


G/t Platonic Sanders Sides Prompts

by HiddenDreamer67



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Aliens, Borrowers - Freeform, G/T, Giant/Tiny, Giants, M/M, Multi, Other, Spaceships, more to be had probably, platonic, prompts, tinies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-08-16 16:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 30,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16498778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenDreamer67/pseuds/HiddenDreamer67
Summary: This is a series of prompts I've been answering over on tumblr, so I decided to post them here as well. Feel free to send send me sentences with a sanders sides pairing and I’ll write a gt drabble.





	1. Logince buys a (doll)house together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “you deserve so much better.” for the sentence thing with Platonic Logince.

“Can we get a dollhouse?” Roman said after a few minutes of silence. Logan looked down at the little borrower next to him, standing on the spare pillow on the bed. 

 

“Wouldn’t that feel a bit...demeaning?” Logan asked, surprised at the question. “After all, you’re not a doll.”

 

“Well, it’d be better than this.” Roman gave the spare pillow below him a kick. “I’ve just been sleeping on this oversized, second-hand pillow.”

 

“What? And you deserve so much better?” Logan teased.

 

“Exactly!” Roman nodded, not catching Logan’s sarcasm. “Not to sound ungrateful, but we’ve come a long way, and I think I deserve my own bed.” 

 

“That’s fair.” Logan took a moment to process the idea. It had crossed his mind a few times before, but he hadn’t wanted to offend the very proud (and stubborn) borrower with such a suggestion. It would be nice for Roman to have his own space.

 

“Yes, I think we can do that.” Logan pulled his laptop up onto his lap, beginning to look for one online. “Although what made you think of it?”

 

“I saw one in the background of the book I was reading.” Roman explained, climbing down off the pillow. He had recently taken to reading fairy tales that often had elaborate pictures. Logan was more than happy to help Roman access these, seeing as Roman couldn’t exactly use the library himself, although Logan did wish that Roman would read more educational texts.

 

Seeing Roman approaching, Logan picked him up and put him on his shoulder so he could see as well. Roman held onto Logan’s shirt collar, eyes shining with excitement as he looked at the computer screen.

 

“That one!” Roman pointed, and Logan stopped scrolling.

 

“Roman, I can’t see which one you’re pointing at.” Logan reminded him. It was difficult for him to see the borrower when Roman was sat on his shoulder.

 

“The one with the gold.” Roman described it. “And the columns, and the big staircase…” Logan clicked on it, eyes widening at the price. He had no idea dollhouses were so expensive. 

 

“What?!” Roman gasped as Logan clicked back to the main menu. “That one was perfect!’

 

“And impractical.” Logan said, resuming his scrolling. “You don’t need a whole mansion.”

 

“Yes, but I  _ want  _ one.” Roman retorted.

 

“Besides, it’s far too large.” Logan explained. “We have nowhere to put it.”

 

“This apartment is mine too, you know.” Roman huffed, crossing his arms in irritation. “I think I’m entitled to half the space.”

 

“Nice try, but no.” Logan smiled. “You don’t take up nearly enough room to get half the apartment to yourself. Besides, you don’t even pay rent.” Logan scrolled down further, looking for something a bit more practical.

 

“What about this?” Logan clicked on a much cheaper option.

 

“Noooo.” Roman groaned. “That one’s ugly.”

 

“”It doesn’t have to be pretty, it has to be functional.” Logan rolled his eyes.

 

“But it’s not functional either!” Roman looked as Logan viewed it from various angles. “It’s missing a whole half of the house!”

 

“A lot of dollhouses are made that way to provide easy access for humans.” Logan reminded him. “After all, these aren’t exactly designed with borrowers in mind.”

 

“I’ll say.” Roman leaned forwards slightly to get a better look. “Look- it doesn’t even have stairs. How am I supposed to get up there?”

 

“Use your climbing hook.” Logan advised.

 

“Maybe I don’t want to pull out my hook everytime I want to travel between rooms in  _ my own home _ .” Roman emphasised. 

 

“I thought you did that in your old house?” Logan asked, remembering tales of Roman’s home within the walls.

 

“Well, yes.” Roman admitted. “But if there’s an option to avoid that I’m not doing it again.”

 

“I think being with me is making you lazy.” Logan observed, but he clicked out of that model to search for a new dollhouse. The two went through a few more designs, getting vetoed for one reason or another. Roman tried to ask for one with a pool before Logan reminded him he couldn’t swim. Then…

 

“There!” Roman called out at the same time as Logan clicked on that very dollhouse. 

 

“This might work.” Logan appraised it. “It’s not too big and provides you some actual privacy. Not to mention it’s cost-effective.”

 

“I don’t love the color though.” Roman frowned, now looking at the inside. 

 

“Well we can paint it.” Logan offered.

 

“And by ‘we’ you mean you?” Roman looked up at Logan with a grin. Logan reached up his free hand and blindly poked Roman in the side, causing the borrower to quickly regrip the shirt for fear of falling.

 

“Yes, I’ll paint it for you, you diva.” Logan rolled his eyes. “Any other objections?”

 

“Hmm.” Roman rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No, it looks alright. It will need some other decorations inside though to liven up the place. Maybe a canopy bed and colored lights. And a disco ball. Maybe a dance floor, but that can wait a little bit. And maybe we can convert that room to have a stage...”

 

“You’ve been spending too much time on pinterest.” Logan  replied, putting the dollhouse in the cart.


	2. Pouty Giant Roman Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "come on, i can’t go to the party alone.” Giant Roman to human Virgil

“Roman?” Virgil called out, making his way through the familiar path in the woods behind his house. Spotting the giant facing away from him in the distance, Virgil sped up his pace. “Roman, it’s time to get going.” He said, stopping several feet away from Roman for safety. 

 

“I’m not going.” Roman huffed, keeping his back turned to his human friend.

 

“What?” Virgil asked, surprised at Roman’s sudden apathy. “What are you talking about, big guy?”

 

“You heard me.” Roman leaned slightly against one of the large evergreens as it began to creak under his weight. 

 

“You’ve been talking about this all week.” Virgil reminded him. “I couldn’t get you to shut up about it.”

 

“I changed my mind.” Roman insisted.

 

“What, suddenly you want to bail and mope about in the woods all evening?” Virgil smirked. “But that’s _ my _ thing.” Indeed, Virgil often went to the woods to be alone and hide away from his responsibilities. It’s where he and Roman had first met- after all, it was a lot harder for Roman to hide in the woods than it was for Virgil.

 

Roman didn’t respond, instead there was a large cracking sound. Looking up, Virgil saw that Roman broke off a tree branch and had begun playing with it nervously in his fingers like Virgil would with a twig. 

 

“Come on,” Virgil said a bit nervously, “I can’t go to the party alone.” 

 

“Well why not?” Roman glared down at Virgil, who took a cautious step back out of instinct. “It’s not like anyone _ sees _ you there anyways.” 

 

“W..what?” Virgil asked, a bit stung. 

 

“Everyone’s always staring at me!” Roman explained, exasperated. 

 

_ “ _ Oh. _ ”  _ Virgil jumped slightly as Roman plopped to the ground, shaking the Earth. He let the tree branch in his hands drop to the ground with a loud  **thud.**

 

“They keep looking up at me with those wide eyes like ‘ _ oh don’t hurt me! _ ’” Roman put up his hands and pretended to be scared before rolling his eyes. “It’s not like I’m some barbaric oaf from all those giant-shaming fairy tales humans are so fond of; I’m not going to  _ eat  _ anyone.” 

 

“You’re setting the bar kind of low there, princey.” Virgil advised.

 

“I haven’t done anything!” Roman continued. “I try my hardest to be non-threatening and  quiet- which is not easy when clearly my singing voice is made to be heard, I assure you- And yet everywhere I go they look at me as though I’m some… some  _ beast _ .” He paused. “It’s not just me, right?”

 

“Well..” Virgil shrugged, not sure what to say. Roman sighed dramatically before putting his head in his hands. 

 

“Look Roman,” Virgil spoke up after the giant was quiet for a few minutes. “We don’t have to go to the party. I’m sure Patton’ll understand.” 


	3. Pouty Giant Roman Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “ugh, you’re sweaty- get off.” Virgil and whoever else you think fits

Virgil cautiously approached Roman, sitting down to lean against Roman’s shoe. He could feel his giant friend tense, but there was no other reaction.

 

“I get it, you know.” Virgil said after the two had been sitting in silence for a while. The big guy only scoffed. “No, really, I mean it.”

 

“You’re an angsty human teen with a penchant for running off.” Roman rolled his eyes. “It’s not the same thing.”

 

“Okay, ouch.” Virgil put a hand to his heart to pretend he had been wounded. When there was not even a hint of a smile, Virgil knew Roman was worse off than he thought. 

 

“So maybe I don’t understand completely.” Virgil admitted. “It’s kinda hard for me to see things from your perspective sometimes. But I do get what it’s like to be the outsider. Before you came along, I’m the one they all gawked at. The one who was viewed as a freak, someone not worthy of being treated like an actual person.” 

 

“Is this supposed to be making me feel better?” Roman raised an eyebrow. 

 

“I’m getting there.” Virgil assured him. “I’m just not good at-” He gestured with his sleeves awkwardly. “-sappy stuff.” He cleared his throat, for the first time in a while feeling nervous around Roman. “What I’m trying to say, is that...people tend to keep a distance from things they don’t understand. They don’t take the time to get to know the real you. But if you treat yourself like you’re a monster, then they never will.”

 

Virgil noticed he now had Roman’s full attention. “I kept myself on the outside because I was afraid of not being let in.” Virgil admitted. “But eventually, I had to let myself be vulnerable to let people get close to me. Like Logan and Patton.” Virgil hit Roman’s shoe playfully, looking up at the giant. “And even you, you big diva.”

 

“Just...you can’t be what they think you are.” Virgil finished. “I don’t want you hiding out here like me because you’re scared to face them.”

 

“I’m not  _ scared. _ ” Roman scoffed, and Virgil was happy to note he was looking more like himself. 

 

“Sure you’re not.” Virgil smirked. 

 

“Of course I’m not!” Virgil’s eyes widened as a wall of tan skin suddenly appeared in front of his face. Seconds later he found himself scooped up in Roman’s palm, quickly being raised up to Roman’s face. From there Roman transferred Virgil to hold him up with two fingers, letting the human’s legs dangle. “Why would I be scared of one of you guys? You’re tiny, teenage tinkerbell.” Roman teased.

 

“C’mon.” Virgil’s heart raced, but he ignored it. He was used to Roman doing things quickly and without thinking. It was why others were afraid of him, but it made Virgil feel... _ alive. _ “Tinkerbell? That’s the best you’ve got? You’re losing your touch, Princey.” 

 

“I’ll just have to borrow a little of your touch, then.” Roman replied with his own smirk, before pushing Virgil up against his neck with his palm as a sort of hug. 

 

“Ugh, you’re sweaty- get off!” Virgil pushed at Roman’s hand, but he was unable to make any headway. Roman chuckled, and it shook Virgil around from all sides. After a minute Roman relented, pulling Virgil away from his neck. He held Virgil cupped in his palms.

 

“Thank you, Virgil.” Roman said with sincerity. “I think you may be the only human being who truly sees me not as a freak or a beast, but...well, as a friend.”

 

Virgil felt an embarrassed blush rise to his cheeks. “Aw c’mon, you know I’m no good with the sappy stuff up close like this.” But at Roman’s excited puppy dog eyes, he smiled. “So, do you feel up to the challenge of social interaction?” 

 

“Only if you’re there with me.” Roman said with a smile. 

 

“What did I just say about sappy stuff?” Virgil groaned. Roman laughed, setting Virgil on his shoulder. Virgil grabbed a hold of the giant’s shirt as he stood up, carefully making his way through the trees and towards the lights of the party in the distance.


	4. Party Roman needs morale support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Come on, I cant go to the party alone" with tiny virgil and big roman

 

“Ugh, great.” Roman shut his phone. “Logan’s sick, so he’s not going tonight.’

“Is that a good thing?” Virgil said, swinging his tiny legs as he sat on the edge of the counter.

“It’s a terrible thing!” Roman threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, looking to his borrower friend for sympathy.

“Why?” Virgil asked. “I thought you didn’t want to go with Logan.”

“Yes, but even that nerd is better than no one.” Roman explained. He put his head down on the counter a few feet from Virgil, propping his chin up with his arms. “Now I’ve got no one.”

“Bummer.” Virgil said in mock sympathy. “Sucks to be you.”  

Roman eyed Virgil, suddenly struck with inspiration. “Virgil… I just had a brilliant idea.” Before Virgil could even blink, he was scooped up in Roman’s hands and suddenly found himself uncomfortably close to the human’s face. “You could go with me!”

“What?!” Virgil struggled to put some distance between them, suddenly more anxious than he had been around Roman in a while.

“Just for moral support, of course.” Roman explained. “I know how you’re all about secrecy and not letting other people see you.” The borrower rules were very clear. Even though Virgil was now friends with Roman, Virgil still knew it was best to keep as safe and hidden as possible. “I’ll just put you in my pocket, No one will ever know.”

“B-but…” Virgil’s mind instantly began jumping to the worst possible conclusions. What if someone did see him? What if someone bumped into Roman at the party and Virgil was squished? What if someone took him out of Roman’s pocket and Roman didn’t even notice?

“Come on, I can’t go to the party alone!” Roman insisted, giving his best puppy dog eyes. “Don’t you trust me?”

“…alright.” Virgil sighed, deciding to put more trust in Roman. He hated when the human played that card.

“Huzzah!” Roman exclaimed, and suddenly Virgil was in darkness. Feeling the soft walls around him, Virgil guessed (correctly) that he had been placed in Roman’s shirt pocket. Virgil was pushed firmly into Roman’s chest as the human patted the pocket, making sure Virgil was secure before walking.

“This is going to be great.” Roman’s words echoed around Virgil, vibrating him to his core with how close he was to Roman’s chest. “You never get out enough, you tiny recluse. We should do this more often!”

“Roman.” Virgil hissed, loud enough that Roman could hear him. “You can’t talk to me while we’re outside, you’ll look suspicious.”

“Well what’s the point of bringing a little friend along if I can’t even stage whisper all my secrets to them?” Roman said with a smile.

“That’s exactly why this is a dumb idea.” Virgil squirmed, trying to get more comfortable.

“ROMAN!” A loud, unknown voice made the borrower’s heart skip a beat, before he was suddenly squished between Roman and an unknown force.

“H-hey, Patton!” Roman quickly shoved Patton off him, fearing for his friend tucked away on his person. Virgil was, thankfully, unharmed, although Roman could feel the borrower’s heart racing faster than his own. 

“I’m so glad you could make it!” Patton said. “Where’s Logan?” 

“Oh, Logan couldn’t make it.” Roman explained, subconsciously putting a hand on his chest pocket.


	5. Patton's tiny wall friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "You know me better than anyone"

Patton had always been one to believe fairy tales. He believed in mystical creatures and strange magics of all kinds. So when he began to hear noises in his walls, Patton knew better than to dismiss them.

 

Was it a ghost? A spirit trapped in his house? Patton had tried to communicate to it with a ouija board, but that had proved fruitless. The whatever-it-was had probably laughed at him for that one.

 

It could have been mice, but...mice don’t talk. And Patton swore he had heard a voice late one night to accompany the strange sounds. It was faint, and Patton couldn’t quite make out the words. He had sat up in bed to try to hear better, but as soon as he moved everything turned eerily silent. Patton laid back in bed, pretending to be asleep. After a few moments, there was the sound of a frantic scurrying and then quiet as the creature disappeared. Patton couldn’t have just made that up.

 

It was Patton’s belief that the magic little wall being was harmless. They seemed more scared of Patton than anything else, so Patton went out of his way to be as non-threatening as possible. After all, the idea of anyone being terrified of  _ him  _ made Patton’s heart just ache. 

 

At one point a few cookies from his jar began to go missing, so Patton left a few out. He didn’t want the little guy going hungry, after all. But he wasn’t sure how to communicate that these were meant for the wall creature; having no other option, Patton went through his house and gently knocked on the walls in a few places he had heard noises before.

 

“Um, hello?” Patton called softly, walking along. “I don’t want to frighten you, but I left some cookies out. You’re welcome to have some.”

 

Of course, there had been no response.

 

“C’mon, you know me better than anyone.” Patton teased. “I mean you’ve gotta, right? You’ve been living in my house for a while. I like to think that I’m a nice guy. I just want to make sure you feel welcome!”

 

Silence.

 

“I don’t want to pressure you to come out.” Patton tried reassuring them. “Just letting you know the cookies are there. Open invitation. Alright, well uh… see you around then. Or not, but I guess you’ll see me around. Okay bye!”

 

Patton wasn’t sure how his invitation was taken. The cookies remained untouched and got stale. In fact, for several days the noises stopped as well, and Patton feared the creature had left; but thankfully he was proven wrong a few nights later when he once again heard the voice. This time, Patton laid in bed and kept his eyes closed.

 

“-making this harder than it has to be.” As the being came closer, Patton’s ears finally picked up it’s tiny voice. His chest tightened and fought to keep from gasping in surprise. He scrunched up his face, trying not to peek. Even one look might make the tiny bolt far away, and Patton was desperate to know more.

  
  



	6. Patton's cold borrower son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Patton to Kid!Smol Virgil “you’re freezing. come here.”

Patton froze in his kitchen, hearing a pattering behind the cereal box. Any other human would just dismiss the noise. Any other human didn’t have a borrower son.

 

“Virgil?” Patton called out. “Come on, it’s dinner time buddy.”

 

“O-okay.” Virgil’s quiet voice shook, and Patton almost didn’t hear it. A moment later a small head peaked around the cereal box, followed soon by the rest of the borrower’s body. Virgil had his arms wrapped around his chest, looking to all the world a scared child. But Patton had known Virgil long enough to know this was no longer the case. At least, he hoped it wasn’t. Patton had practically adopted the poor borrower child, taking him in when he found Virgil abandoned in the attic.  

 

Of course, things hadn’t always been easy with their size difference. Virgil had spent the first few days cowering, and it took several weeks of Patton’s gentle nature to help Virgil finally open up. But looking down at the borrower now, Patton wondered if Virgil was having another relapse.

 

“You okay, kiddo?” Patton said in concern. Virgil shook his head.

 

“I’m a-alright.” Virgil told him, teeth chattering. Patton frowned at Virgil’s actions, wondering what could cause this behavior. Was Virgil really scared of him again?

 

“You’re freezing.” Patton said in realization. Virgil nodded in agreement, and Patton felt a sense of relief wash over him. He’d hate to be the cause of his son’s fear once more. “Come here, kiddo.” 

 

Patton put his cupped hands down slowly, placing them on the kitchen counter. Virgil hastily climbed on, practically diving into Patton’s comparatively warm hands. Patton’s thumb brushed against Virgil’s head, causing Patton to frown when he felt the little boy’s icy skin. Was this normal for borrowers? It didn’t feel that cold, but the winter air probably felt a lot colder to Virgil than it did to a human. 

 

Not to mention, Virgil spent a lot of time in the walls, much to Patton’s unease. It was probably much colder between the walls like that, and certainly a lot draftier.

 

“It’s alright.” Patton said softly, bringing Virgil up to his chest. He held the borrower close to his heart, sharing as much of his body heat as possible. Looking down at Virgil like this, Patton was once again reminded just how  _ small  _ Virgil was. Though he was bound to grow as he got older, Patton knew from Virgil’s descriptions that even adult borrowers were not very large. Patton wondered just how big Virgil would get. He’d probably still fit in Patton’s hand. 

 

It was strange to think about Virgil growing up; though Patton had only known Virgil a few months (since the spring, actually), he felt very strongly attached to his borrower son. He wanted to protect Virgil from absolutely everything, but he didn’t want to smother him either. It was a fine line to walk, but Patton was sure he could succeed. 

 

Patton smiled down at Virgil, giving him a rub on the head as a sign of affection. Virgil gave a noise of contentment, burrowing further into Patton’s shirt. The sight made Patton’s heart flutter, pulling Virgil just a little closer to himself. “I’ve gotcha, kiddo.” 

  
  



	7. Borrowers need to eat, too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “i’m dying without you. when are you coming back?” Roman and Thomas

Borrowing was never easy when you had an unpredictable human, and Roman was a perfect example. Thomas had been living on his own for three years in this house, and yet even after all this time Thomas was still constantly on edge. He would be borrowing water or crackers or paperclips, when all of a sudden the human would burst through the door belting showtunes and Thomas would have to scramble for cover. On more than one occasion Thomas thought he was done for, and often Thomas had concluded that he would likely one day die of one of the many heart attacks Roman had given him over the years. Even borrowing at night was not without risks, as often Roman would be up late into the evening working on yet another one of his ‘creative visions’.

 

So, it was no surprise that upon Roman’s disappearance, Thomas’ first emotion was relief. Not knowing how long the human would be gone, Thomas began quickly borrowing as many essentials as he could carry. Roman never seemed to notice when multiple things went missing anyways. It was a shame that the cupboards were pretty bare (Humans Roman’s age seemed to forget to stock up on food), but Thomas just used his time to acquire other resources. He re-filled his staple supply for building climbing structures in the walls and even found time to finally borrow some glue to fix up his door.

 

“Thank you, Roman.” Thomas said with a small whistle, gazing over his findings fondly. Things were finally looking up for him.

 

However, with time, Thomas began to notice how long Roman had been gone. By the fourth day, Thomas’ food supply had run out, and his stomach wouldn’t stop reminding him. The borrower triple-checked the cupboards for even a scrap to tide him over, but it was a fruitless venture. Thomas had gathered up anything edible the day before; everything else had been discovered by a rat that had briefly taken up residence. Thomas had warded it off, but not before it got into the last loaf of bread.

 

Thomas sighed, heading over to the kitchen sink. He turned on the tap with his hook, watching the water begin to pour out. He filled up his cup, trying to ebb his hunger with water instead. 

 

“Any time now, Roman.” Thomas sighed, sitting against the faucet and almost wishing the human would waltz through the kitchen door.

 

Thomas, being a borrower, had faced hunger before. After all, dinner is never guaranteed when you live on someone else’s  scraps. But by the seventh day of Roman’s absence, Thomas began to realize what it truly meant to starve. His stomach would not stop screaming at him, every movement took an agonizing amount of effort, and Thomas lacked the basic motivation to move out of bed. He had taken residence in a small corner of the kitchen counter behind the toaster. It was very out in the open, but at least he wouldn’t have to go far if Roman ever returned with food.

 

“I’m dying without you.” Thomas couldn’t help but feel bitter as he glared at the kitchen door. “When are you coming back?” Of course, the door did not answer. Nor did Roman appear and magically solve his hunger problems.

 

Thomas groaned, laying back onto the hard countertop and putting his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

 

“...I’m an idiot.” Thomas said dully. “I should’ve just gone somewhere else. But noooo, I got all excited over some staples. And now i’m gonna die.” Indeed, Thomas lacked the energy required to travel to his room, let alone another human household. Even if there was a place nearby, Thomas would never make it in his state. He’s sooner be eaten by a raccoon or someone’s cat.

 

“Maybe I should just do that.” Thomas kept talking aloud, mostly to distract himself from the stomach pains. “Maybe I should get eaten by a cat. Would that hurt?” He thought of their fangs and winced. “I mean, at least that would be faster. It’s not like he’s gonna come back, after all.” 

 

Thomas chuckled. He never thought his life would reach a point where he actually  _ wanted  _ Roman around, but right about now he’d do anything to have that dramatic, showtunes-obsessed bean galavanting through the hall; provided he brought something edible with him, of course.

 

It was then that Thomas paused. Was that… did he just hear the front door? No, it couldn’t be. Thomas sat up, trying to tell if his ears were playing tricks on him. 

 

“I’m hoooooome!” Roman’s booming voice echoed in from the living room, and Thomas almost cried with relief. Thomas listened as loud footsteps transferred from the living room carpeting to the kitchen tiled floor. A sound of rolling wheels accompanied the human. A loud  _ thud  _ shook the surface on which Thomas sat as something was set on the counter. In his slightly delirious state Thomas almost peered around the toaster to investigate, but he had enough good sense left to stay put. 

 

There was a sound of kitchen cupboards opening and closing, followed by the heavy fridge being opened as well. “Oh, Roman, you have got to go shopping.” Roman scolded himself lightly, closing the fridge. “Always the worst part about vacations, I swear….” Thomas heard a few more shuffling sounds before recognizing the familiar ‘pings’ of a human phone.  Thomas used his remaining energy to try and focus on the conversation being held above his head, and had to hold back a groan as he recognized one heavenly word:  _ Pizza. _

 

“Shh, just a little longer.” Thomas whispered to his stomach as it let out a loud growl. Luckily Roman was still finishing up the order, and didn’t hear the borrower’s protesting digestive system. 

 

Roman’s fingers began to drum on the counter, and Thomas began to watch them with the kind of strange interest only gained from malnutrition. Vaguely Thomas heard the phone call end as he continued to watch the hand just a few feet away from him,  _ tap tap tap _ -ing away. 

 

“What the-?” The tapping stopped. Thomas’ head slowly began to look up, too late realizing that he was still on the countertop. The toaster provided no cover if a human was standing. Indeed, as his neck craned back, Thomas found Roman’s humongous eyes tracking his movements. He gulped.

 

Far too fast for thomas’ unnourished brain to process, Roman’s hand darted towards him. Thomas tried to duck, but his efforts were in vain as those fingers that had captured his interest now captured  _ him _ . A groan escaped Thomas as he was whisked far too quickly through the air, and if anything had been in his stomach it would likely have been expelled in this action. His felt incredibly lightheaded as he was brought up to face the human. 

 

Thomas couldn’t even feel his instinctual fear as the room continued to spin. Even Roman’s gigantic face, though right in front of him, appeared as nothing more than a blurry blob. A loud pounding sound bounced through his skull, and Thomas vaguely recognized this as Roman’s voice. In his already weakened state all this stimulation proved to be too much for the borrower, and just a moment later Thomas lost consciousness entirely.


	8. Is it punk to visit your giant friend?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “can i sleep over? my parents are fighting again.” Human Virgil to Punk Giant Logan

“You sure about this, kid?” The bus driver asked, stopping in the Giant district. 

 

“I’m not a kid.” Virgil huffed, getting up and off the bus. Not another human soul joined him. After all, who’d be stupid enough to go into the Giant district at this time of night? Apparently a 16 year old piece of trash who couldn’t stand to spend the evening at home. 

 

Virgil pulled his jacket closer to his body, stalking down the sidewalk with his hood up. It was harder to find the house in the dark, but the blaring music made it easy to identify. Virgil pulled out his industrial headphones. He put them on, knowing he would need protection to keep any of his hearing where he was going.

 

Virgil reached the house. He knew that Logan wouldn’t be able to hear him knock even without the music, so he walked around the side of the house to his own entrance. Logan’s room was in the basement. There was a little window at ground level that was left open. There was a screen, but previously Virgil had loosened it so that it could be pulled out of the way just enough for him to squeeze through. 

 

Virgil looked around the room, spotting Logan with his back turned over by the desk. The giant was leaning back in his chair, feet kicked up on the desk and drawing on his right arm with a sharpie. 

 

Since it wasn’t very far from the window to a bookcase below the ledge, Virgil made the jump down. From there Virgil began to climb down the bookcase to the ground using a ladder attached to the side. He could remember the first few times he came over to Logan’s house and had to be completely dependent on Logan to get around. That sucked, especially since during those days the two didn’t know each other very well. 

 

Virgil had never been a fan of being carried around by giants, but now if it had to be done there was no one he’d trust more than Logan.  Though the giant looked intimidating with his punk interior, his harsh words hid a caring friend. Nowadays Logan never hesitated to fight someone when they tried to talk down about humans. He’d rip them apart using facts, or on the occasion that proved fruitless he’d just use force. It was an awesome, terrifying sight to behold.

 

Virgil reached the desk, climbing up the side with the help of another ladder. At this point Logan must have noticed him. Out of the corner of Virgil’s eyes he saw Logan shift, and a second later the music blaring from the stereo was considerably quieter. However, when Virgil reached the desktop Logan was back to focusing on his arm.

 

“Whatcha doing?” Virgil asked, taking off his headphones.

 

“Testing some new tattoo ideas.” Logan explained. “I want to see how it’ll look first.”

 

“Isn’t a sharpie kind of permanent?” Virgil pointed out.

 

“Less permanent than a tattoo.” Logan shrugged, causing Virgil to roll his eyes. “Besides, if it’s easily removable there’s no risk. No risk, no reward.” Logan pulled his feet off the desk, leaning forward to show Virgil the outline of the solar system drawn down the length of his forearm. 

 

“Nice.” Virgil nodded in approval. 

 

“I figured I’d get it with color, too.” Logan explained, opening a drawer to pull out a colored sharpie. He put his arm on the desk, beginning to color in the outline. “So, how long are you staying?” Logan asked after a minute, only now addressing the fact that Virgil didn’t actually live here. He certainly didn’t mind Virgil’s presence.

 

“...Can I sleep over?” Virgil asked, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. “My parents are fighting again.”

 

“Yeah, of course.” Logan shrugged. “I’m not sure why you’d want to spend more time here though.”


	9. Excited Giant Puppy Searches for Emo Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: hi!! for the prompts (if youre still taking those?? idk) could you do moxiety with “i’m dying without you. when are you coming back?”

Virgil sighed, pushing away from his desk with a huff. “This is so dumb.” Virgil conceded, groaning as he clutched his skull. He just wished there was some distraction worthy of his time so he could justify blowing off his homework again, but he couldn’t keep visiting Patton. The big guy was probably getting sick and tired of him, anyways.

 

Virgil felt a small vibration coming from his pocket. Pulling out his phone, Virgil saw he was getting a call from Logan. Virgil rolled his eyes- why couldn’t Logan just text like everyone else? He hated having to actually answer his phone, but with one push Virgil answered.

 

“What up, Nerd?” Virgil asked.

 

“Come retrieve your brobdingnagian associate.” Logan sounded less than pleased.

 

“My what now?” Virgil frowned.

 

“Your giant. friend.” There was a loud clanging sound heard over the phone, and an equally loud apology that could only have come from one person. Virgil’s eyes widened. “Swiftly, Virgil.”

 

“Virgil?” Patton’s booming voice caused Virgil to hold the phone away from his ear. “Where is he?”

 

“I told you, I’m talking to him on- HEY!” Logan’s voice suddenly sounded far away, and a heavy breathing replaced it. Virgil could only guess that Patton had stolen Logan’s phone, and he hoped the excitable giant didn’t accidentally crush the device. Logan certainly wouldn’t thank him for that.

 

“...Patton?” Virgil spoke up cautiously. 

 

“Virgil!” Virgil held the phone even further away as Patton gave a happy shout, and he could only imagine how bad it must sound to poor Logan who was actually there.

 

“Hey popstar, it’s me.” Virgil couldn’t help but smile at Patton’s enthusiasm, despite his confusion. 

 

“I’m dying without you.” Patton groaned. He sounded like a puppy with that voice. A disappointed, slightly betrayed puppy. “When are you coming back? You didn’t visit today. I was worried about you!”

 

“Uh, sorry about that, I’m fine.” Now Virgil felt guilty he hadn’t gone, but he was more thrown off by the addition of Logan to this strange scenario. After all, to his knowledge Logan and Patton had never met. “What’s going on? Where are you?”

 

“I’m at Logan’s house!” Patton responded. “I found it when I came looking for you when you didn’t come visit today, and I started getting all worried because what if something had happened to my tiny strange dark son?”

 

“Not your son.” Virgil interrupted him gently.

 

“Oops, sorry kiddo.” Patton sounded sheepish. “Well anyways, I thought ‘who else could help me?’ and then I remembered that you said your friend Logan lived in the blue house by the edge of the woods, and I thought ‘Well I might not know Logan, but a friend of Virgil’s is a friend of mine!’”

 

Virgil winced. That must have been a massive shock to his poor nerdy friend; perhaps pointing his house out to a literal giant and giving him no warning wasn’t the kindest move on Virgil’s part. But he couldn’t blame Patton either, as the guy didn’t seem to possess a malicious bone in his body. Patton had always talked about how he avoided humans, and the fact that he sought one out just to find Virgil was….kinda sweet. Or at least, it would be more sweet if Virgil’s anxiety wasn’t through the roof. He could still hear some unpleasant sounds in the background that indicated things were still not going well for Logan.

 

“Okay, okay.” Virgil tried to take a few deep breaths. “Patton, I need you to listen, alright? I’m gonna meet you at Logan’s. Do whatever Logan says. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

 

“Okay!” Patton said cheerily. “See you soon kiddo!” Virgil hung up the phone, throwing on his jacket and rushing out the door in the direction of Logan’s home.

 


	10. Even in Space you can't avoid people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "You're a horrible liar. I've known you for far too long to be able to tell" (not sure if I got it word for word correct) Maybe Analogical? Or maybe Prinxiety :) You can decide who's tol and smol

Virgil sat on the edge of the console, trying to stay out of Logan’s way as the engineer typed away on the foreign device. Instead the human gazed out the window, watching various planets and stars seem to float by. Even though it had been years since he had accidentally joined this astral crew, Virgil still found the vast emptiness of space to be terrifying. It didn’t help that so many of the alien members were vastly larger than himself, Logan included. It just helped to drive home that feeling of being inferior.

 

“Uh oh.” Logan grimaced as he looked at the screen before him.

 

“What is it?” Virgil quickly turned away from the window to look up at the screen, but Logan was frantically closing out of the notification already.

 

“Oh, ah nothing.” Logan waved him off, clearly lying. “Just a glitch in the system.” 

 

“You’re a horrible liar.” Virgil noted, getting anxious. “I’ve known you for far too long to be able to tell.”

 

“...alright.” Logan admitted, sighing. “I know you humanoids are easily stressed, so let me begin with stating that everything is relatively fine.”

 

“What. is. It.” Virgil repeated, his unease increasing slightly.

 

“You don’t need to worry about any of the engines malfunctioning or a lack of fuel-”

 

“Well I wasn’t worried about those until you mentioned it!” Virgil interrupted.

 

“My apologies.” Logan winced. “I just received notice that there’s another ship in our vicinity and they’ve requested access to board.” 

 

“Well who is it?” Virgil’s mind began racing with possibilities. “Is it, like, space pirates? Or-”

 

“It’s not ‘space pirates’, don’t be ridiculous Virgil.” Logan sighed. “It’s… my ex.”

 

Virgil paused. “Your ex.”

 

“My ex rival.” Logan said, as though that cleared things up.

 

“Your… Logan, that just raises so many questions.” Virgil couldn’t help but feel frustrated that Logan had made him get all stressed over Logan’s personal drama. “You had a rival?” Was that just an alien thing?

 

“Yes, although we’ve since grown to be on more civil terms.” Logan explained. Another notification popped up on the screen, which Logan promptly closed. 

 

“Well, then what’s the problem?” Virgil asked. “I mean, I thought we were supposed to trade with other ships.”

 

“I’d rather not interact with this particular vessel.” Logan said, giving the screen a dirty look. “This man is far too extravagant for me to deal with when our caffeine supplies are still so dangerously low.”

 

“Oh come on.” Virgil groaned. “You’re always forcing me to interact with random aliens I don’t want to see. And it’s, like, a thousand times harder for me because you’re all so huge and intimidating to begin with.”

 

“I’m not sure your calculation is correct.” Logan pointed out, but Virgil refused to let him sidetrack this conversation.

 

“Plus, you already know him.” Virgil pointed out. “ And he might have something we need. How hard could it be? Just let him on, do the trade, and then reevaluate your conversation late into the night as you wonder why you said something awkward again.”

 

There was a third ping on the screen as a more insistent notification arrived. Logan moved to close out of it, but he paused. He looked down at Virgil before moving over to accept the notification.

 

“Fine.” Logan conceded. “But I did warn you.”


	11. Borrower finds unlikely BFF in Human Bean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I'm dying without you, when are you coming back?" with Virgil and Roman for the platonic starter prompts!

“Virgil?” Roman knocked lightly on the wall under his nightstand. He knew from previous experience that this was where Virgil’s home resided. The borrower had disappeared in this exact spot enough times for even Roman to figure it out.

 

“C’mon, I’m dying without you.” Roman groaned, flopping dramatically to lay on the ground. “When are you coming back?”

 

There was a quiet, muffled ‘ _ never’  _ in response. 

 

“Well now look who’s being a drama queen.” Roman pointed out, considering Virgil always called him out on being overdramatic. “...are you still mad about the thing at Patton’s party?”

 

There was a long, drawn out silence.

 

“So that’s a yes.” Roman sighed. “Virgil, how many times do I need to apologize? You were right, I never should have forced you to go with me. I had no idea it was going to get so chaotic and dangerous and I’m sorry I ever put you in that situation. But I’ve already said I’m sorry, there’s not much else I can do! Do you want me to promise not to do that again? Fine, I promise. Happily.”

 

Roman stared at the wall anxiously, his face falling slightly.

 

“Virgil, please.” Roman began to pick at one of the carpet fibers, feeling a bit nervous. “I just… I feel bad, alright? There, I said it. I feel guilty that I put you in that situation and I wasn’t thinking and I’m sorry. I don’t-” Roman sighed, laying his head down, “-...I don’t want to lose my best friend over this.”

 

“I’m your best friend?” Roman lifted his head to see Virgil standing several feet to his left, near what appeared to be an open secret passageway into the wall. With just a twinge of embarrassment, Roman realized his guess about where Virgil lived had been slightly off.

 

“Well, yeah.” Roman propped  himself up onto his elbows. “Why wouldn’t you be?”

 

“I mean, I guess I just figured that you had a human best friend.” Virgil admitted, shutting the door in the wall so that the entrance was once again invisible to the human eye. “Like Logan or Patton.”

 

“Logan’s a nerd.” Roman stuck out his tongue with distaste at the thought. “And Patton is just friends with everyone, it’s what he does.”

 

“Well, then someone else.” Virgil’s shoulders’ rose slightly with his unease. “There has to be  _ somebody. _ ”

 

“Virgil, you live here.” Roman raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think if I had a best friend you would have seen them before?” Virgil looked slightly more relaxed.

 

“Well,” Virgil said with a smirk. “I did forget you’re actually a loser.” Roman let out a slightly offended huff, but he didn’t mean it. Especially because he could still tell Virgil was upset about something.

 

“Why would there have to be somebody else?” Roman asked, frowned. “Do you...not want to be my best friend?”

 

“No, not exactly?” Virgil shrugged. “I mean it just...it feels weird to think about. Like, why would you possibly pick me as you best friend when there’s  _ all _ those other incredibly loud, actually useful humans in your life?”

 

“So this is still about the party?” Roman guessed. Virgil slowly nodded in confirmation. “Virgil- okay, yes,  _ sometimes  _ I like to go partying, and it’s clearly safer if I do that with my other human friends. But! When it comes to debating the themes of disney films, which is obviously the most important trait to find in a best friend, there is no one I’d chose over you.” 

 

Virgil scuffed his foot amongst the carpet fibers, looking contemplative. 

 

“You keep me honest.” Roman continued. “You call me out when I’m being too much, and help me not to take things too seriously. You help make this tiny apartment a little paradise because I get to share it with you. I treasure your company; ergo, you’re best friend material.”

 

There was a pause. Virgil mumbled something, and Roman had to lean closer. “...come again?”

 

“I said you’re my best friend too!” Virgil’s face scrunched up as if it pained him to say. “Ugh, this sappy stuff is too much. Can we just...move on?”

 

“Of course, sour plum fairy.” Roman teased, putting his hand next to Virgil.

 


	12. Patton and the Crying Giant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “I just want you to be happy” with tiny Patton and giant Virgil pretty please?

Patton always seemed to find himself in odd scenarios. His empathetic nature led him to quickly bond with strangers, stopping to hear their tale. So when Patton heard a soft sobbing in the woods, he knew he couldn’t just let it go. Instead, Patton began to follow the noise. The sobbing got louder. And louder. In fact, now it felt as though it was vibrating directly through Patton’s core. Peering through the brush, Patton suddenly realized why the sobs were so loud.

 

There, in the clearing, was a  _ Giant. _ He wore what looked to be an oversized black hoodie and jeans. If standing, he would likely tower as high as the evergreens all around; however, right now he sat with his knees tucked up and his head ducked as he let out those chest-rumbling sobs that Patton had been hearing.

 

Patton’s immediate instinct was to run far away, but his heart told him to stay. No matter the size, this guy clearly was having a rough time. He could likely use a friend, or just a stranger willing to listen. At least, Patton hoped he would; otherwise this might end very poorly.

 

“Um, h-hello?” Patton stepped out into the clearing, and immediately the sobbing stopped. The giant’s eyes locked on him, looking distrustful.

 

“What do you want?” The giant sniffled, quickly wiping his eyes.

 

“I want to help.” Patton said. “What’s got you upset?”

 

“As if you care.” There was a large amount of rumbling in the ground as the giant shifted.

 

“Well sure I do, kiddo!” Patton insisted, coming closer. “I just want you to be happy!”

 

“Why?” The giant turned to Patton almost angrily, causing Patton to flinch back. “You don’t even  _ know  _ me!”

 

“...well, I’d like to. Get to know ya, I mean.” Patton paused, then slowly stuck his hand up towards the giant who looked confused.

 

“My name’s Patton.” Patton introduced himself. The giant just stared at him. 

 

“What are you doing?” The Giant frowned slightly at Patton’s hand. “Is- is that like a human thing?”

 

“Oh, well yeah I guess it is more of a human thing.” Patton glanced at his own hand now, realizing how strange he must look. “It’s, well, you shake it. We shake hands and we say our names.”

 

“...why?”

 

“Y’know, I’m not quite sure kiddo.” Patton admitted. He was just about to take his hand back when the giant began to shift again. Patton froze, watching one of those humongous hands come closer, closer…. Patton gulped slightly, watching a large portion of his arm disappear behind those large digits.

 

“...I’m Virgil.” The giant spoke. Patton smiled encouragingly up at him, glad they were getting somewhere.

 

A moment later, Patton felt his arm yanked to the side. He yelped, rapidly trying to keep his footing.

 

“Sorry!” Virgil quickly released him, looking embarrassed as he returned to his curled in position.

 

“No no, it’s alright!” Patton was quick to try and comfort Virgil as he tried to ignore the soreness traveling up his arm. “My instructions weren’t very clear, and I was just surprised is all!” 


	13. Is Roman shrinking or Logan growing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: For the platonic prompts- "C'mon I can't go to the party alone!" With Roman and Logan?

“Knock knock.” Roman said, knocking on Logan’s door. 

 

“You don’t have to say ‘knock knock’, I heard you perfectly fine.” Logan didn’t look up from his desk. 

 

“Are you ready to go?” Roman asked, ignoring the logical sides’ comment. “C’mon, I can’t go to the party alone.”

 

“Yes, Thomas is wise to not let you control his mind out in public after that last incident.” Logan thought back to it and shuddered. 

 

“It’s not my fault the paint didn’t wash out!” Roman objected. “Besides, Joan’s table looks much better that way.”

 

“I’m not sure they agree.” Logan stood up with a sigh. Though he loathed to leave his work, it would be better for everyone if he simply left and kept an eye on Roman. “And I still don’t agree with this party business, either. Thomas should be inside studying tonight; his exam is only-”

 

“We get it, talking textbook.” Roman inspected his nails with a bored expression. “I’m tons of fun, and you’re no fun at all.”

 

Logan paused, standing next to Roman. An observation he had just made changed Logan’s entire course of thought. “Roman. Are you...shorter?”

 

“What? What’re you…” Roman’s sentence trailed off as he actually looked up at Logan. “Hold on, did you get taller?”

 

The idea was ridiculous, of course. All the sides were the exact same height as their host: 5’10”. But one look at the two of them made it obvious that some sort of anomaly was occurring. 

 

“This way.” Logan grabbed Roman by the wrist, eliciting a ‘hey!’ of protest from the creative side. Logan quickly pushed Roman against the wall, drawing a line just above the top of Roman’s head. Then Logan grabbed a ruler, measuring it against the marking on the wall. 

 

“Five feet, eight inches.” Logan said breathlessly.

 

“What? No!” Roman was indignant. “No, that’s not possible, it’s you that’s changing.”

 

“Ridiculous.” Logan held up the ruler as evidence. “The evidence doesn't lie: it's you.”

 

“No, it’s not fair!” Roman stomped his foot. “You must be cheating, this is your room. Everything’s just growing with you.”

 

“Now you’re just being absurd.” Logan rolled his eyes. “But if you require further evidence, I’ll gladly repeat this experiment in your room.” 

 

“Yes, I would like that very much, you giant oaf.” Roman quickly headed out the doorway towards his room. Logan followed, only to pause as he nearly hit his head on the frame of Roman’s doorway.

 

...had Roman’s doorway always been so low?

 

“Here, try again.” Roman handed over another ruler. Logan repeated the procedure, eyes widening at the results. “What? What is it?”

 

“Roman…” Logan wasn’t sure how to put this. “You seem to have shrunk even further.”

 

“What?!” Roman looked at the ruler: 5’7”.

 

“...measure yourself!” Roman said frantically, now biting at his nails to try and keep from panicking. If only to appease him, Logan did so. 

 

6’1”.

 

“Now this is odd.” Logan frowned. “I… do seem to have grown.”

 

“HA!” Roman exclaimed. “You see? I was right! In your face, you Brobdingnagian!”

 

“Don’t bring Jonathan Swift into this.” Logan scolded, beginning to pace. “I think what’s most odd is the fact that the rate at which you seem to be shrinking seems to be the rate at which I am, well, growing. If we all are usually Thomas’ height, perhaps there is only a certain amount of height to go around.”

 

“If one of us gets taller, another must get smaller.” Roman realized.

 

“Precisely.” Logan nodded, stopping in place to face the shorter side.

 

“Well that’s all well and good, but that still doesn’t explain why this is happening!” Roman protested.

 

“Did you do anything before you came knocking at my door?” Logan asked.

 

“No!” Roman snapped. “I think I’d have mentioned it if I had drunk a shrinking potion or something. Like “oh hey Logan, this strange thing is happening. Maybe it’s because I drank from an unidentified flask on the counter!”” 

 

“Roman. Focus.” Logan put his hands on Roman’s shoulders, and Roman tried not to think about how his palms now completely engulfed his shoulder blades.

 

“Okay, ah….” Roman rubbed at his temples, looking down at his feet. “Well, I was with Thomas and Virgil getting into a heated argument about whether going out tonight was a good idea. Of course I said yes, but Virgil…” Roman gave a sad sigh. “Mr. Dark and gloomy over there seemed to up the antics tonight, which I’m man enough to admit sent… unpleasant butterflies about in my stomach.”

 

Logan’s eyes widened. At the mention of Virgil, Logan could literally feel Roman’s shoulders sinking beneath his grasp. 

 

“What exactly did he say?” Logan pressed.

 

“He, well,” Roman was hesitant, “he may have... said some unpleasant things in the heat of the moment, that may or may not have been equivalent to ‘you’re the least important side’. Which he apologized for, but-”

 

“No.” Logan said forcefully, trying to test a hypothesis. “He was right. Thomas doesn’t need you. You're useless.” Roman’s face fell in betrayal. 

 

And then, all hell broke loose.

 

Logan’s height shot up, causing the logical side to painfully hit his head on the ceiling. Logan ducked, clutching his head and falling backwards as he lost balance onto a few abandoned art projects littering the floor. Roman was thrown against the wall in the chaos, causing him to groan as he began to reach the average size of an American Girl Doll. 

 

“What was that for?!” Roman yelled angrily, feeling himself grow an inch or two with rage. He looked around, taking in the hole now present in his ceiling. It completely ruined the mural he had painted up there several years ago.

 

“I was testing something.” Logan groaned, one hand still cradling his skull. “It seems that your height is directly linked to your ego. “When Virgil fed into your insecurities, your shrinking process began. And when I reinforced those ideas, it accelerated.” Logan winced. “A bit more rapidly than expected, I’ll admit.”

 

“W-what?” Roman laughed awkwardly. “I’m not insecure!” Roman shrunk another inch.

 

“Uh huh.” Logan sounded unconvinced. 

 

“Well, fine, what about you then?” Roman asked, still looking annoyed.

 

“I suspect it’s mostly to do with preservation of mass and me being the closest target.” Logan theorized. “After all, if there is indeed a normal amount of height to be distributed amongst us all, then it stands to reason as you lost some height, equilibrium was thrown off balance. Although it is also possible that my own growth is also affected by my own ego, as I certainly feel confident in my own abilities when my theories are proven correct.”

 

“How dare you take pleasure in my lowest hour.” Roman glared up at Logan. He looked past the giant side at the state of his room, furious to see his newest work was destroyed. “And stop crushing my projects!” 

 

“Roman, there is no where else for me to sit.” Logan said irritably, feeling himself shrink slightly at Roman's outburst. “Your room is a mess. And, thanks to you, I am now unable to even exit this room.”

 

“...oh.” Roman looked between Logan and his doorway, suddenly realizing the problem. “Well, we can fix this, right?”

 

“Absolutely.” Logan nodded. “I noticed some fluctuations in the opposite direction when you got passionate. Perhaps if you focused on those emotions than you would be able to reverse this.”

 

“Alright.” Roman began thinking about his strong desire to punch Logan in the face right now, and how it’d be ever so nice to be back to his normal self. Roman felt himself growing slightly, focusing on the things he was passionate about: Disney. Following dreams. His desire to prove himself.

 

“Just make sure not to focus on any emotions that may trigger your insecurities again.”

 

“WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!” Roman yelled exasperatedly, feeling himself shrinking back down to square one. 

 


	14. Practice Makes Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: LAMP “you don’t have to deal with everything alone.”

“Alright, Roman.” Logan said quietly as he stood with his fellow borrower on top of the refrigerator, surveying the kitchen. The human bean, Patton, was sat at the kitchen table looking fully engrossed in a crossword puzzle. “Let’s say you needed to get some salt. What do you do?”

 

“I find Virgil and borrow some of his salty attitude.” Roman quipped, earning him a glare. 

 

“I meant table salt and you knew that I wasn’t speaking figuratively.” Logan lectured.

 

“Fine, fine.” Roman casually stretched his arms. “I’d hook down to the leftmost counter, using the back of the fridge as coverage. Then I’d scurry along the kitchen back splash-”

 

“Where are your emergency hiding spots?” Logan quizzed him. “It’s important to always have those at the forefront of your mind.”

 

“Yes, I know, professor precaution.” Roman rolled his eyes. “Knife block, cookbook, toaster.” He pointed to each of these in turn. “I was getting there, you just interrupted me!”

 

“Fine, continue.” Logan raised his hands palm-up as if to apologize for the interruption.

 

“Then it’s just a simple matter of unscrewing the top, gathering some grains, and screwing it back into place.” Roman gave a fake yawn, looking bored. “Can I just get on with it already?”

 

“Borrowing is not a game, Roman.” Logan scolded him. “You’re supposed to be taking this seriously.” 

 

“I am!” Roman insisted. He began to sneak towards the edge of the fridge, doing everything just as he described. With a flick of his wrist Roman gathered up his hook, ducking behind the knife block. Peering out to check if the coast was clear, Roman dashed across to the cookbook and then the toaster. Spotting the salt shaker, Roman grabbed the top with both hands. With a small grunt it began to untwist. Quickly Roman gathered up some salt and replaced the shaker so that it looked unchanged.

 

“Well done, Roman!” Roman’s head whipped around to see the human bean had his eyes locked on him; Patton was clapping his hands excitedly, looking proud. Roman gave him a large grin and bowed.

 

“Patton!” Logan called out irritably from up on the fridge, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He wasn’t done yet.”

 

“Oops, sorry.” Patton turned sheepishly back to his puzzle, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

 

“Well it’s too late now.” Logan sighed, pulling out his own hook to get down to the counter.

 

“Hey Padre, mind giving me a ride back then?” Roman said hopefully.

 

“What? No!” Logan protested as Patton began to stand. “The point of this was for Roman to do things on his own!”

 

“Well you don’t have to deal with everything alone.” Patton said with a smile. “That’s what we’re here for!”

 

“Regardless, a borrower must keep their skills sharp.” Logan argued. “And all this human contact has caused Roman to go soft.”

 

“I have not gone soft!” Roman protested. Feeling the familiar sensation of the ground shaking, Roman decided to prove it. He dove behind the toaster as cover when Virgil walked into the room, coffee mug in hand.

 

“Hey Pat, Lo.” Virgil greeted the two out in the open first, eyes flicking to the counter. “Nice try Princey.”

 

“Oh, come on!” Roman came back out into the open, pouting. Patton stifled a giggle.

 

“See? Soft.” Logan crossed his arms, looking smug.

 

“Well that’s just not fair.” Roman protested. “I mean, they already know we’re here. And they are our friends and want to keep us safe; of course they’d be looking for us. A normal human bean would never have seen me.”

 

“Eh.” Virgil looked unconvinced as he took a sip of his coffee. "You weren't subtle."

 

“You weren’t even there for the whole thing, emo nightmare.” Roman huffed, still pouting.

 

“Fine. Patton?” Virgil turned to his human roommate.

 

“Well…” Patton bit his lip. “You might want to be a little sneakier, kiddo…”

 

“Patton agrees with me, I win.” Virgil smirked.

 

“But what is the point?!” Roman said exasperatedly. “It’s like Patton said, we don’t have to do everything alone anymore.”

 

“Yes, but it keeps us from being entirely reliant on our human companions.” Logan explained. “And it is necessary for us to keep our borrowing tactics sharp for the future. After all, it’s not like we’re going to stay with them forever.”

 

Roman winced. An uncomfortable silence overtook them all, no one making eye contact. Patton looked down at his shoes, looking sad. Virgil took a long, loud slurp of coffee as if to fill the silence. Only Logan seemed unperturbed, looking confused at the sudden change in his associates’ behavior. 


	15. Practice Makes Perfect Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “here, let me help.” Logan and Patton

“…how about you practice borrowing more later then?” Patton suggested softly. “In the meantime, let’s just…. Let’s have a movie night! That’ll be fun, right Logan?”

“…yes?” Logan raised an eyebrow, not sure what was happening. Why was Patton asking him about having a movie night? Usually these events just happened, with Logan being practically dragged along.

“I’ll pick the movie!” Roman offered, raising his hand. “Virgil, to the living room.” He got ready to step onto Virgil’s hand, but it wasn’t offered to him.

“Meet you there, princey.” Virgil left, leaving behind an offended prince to make his own way to the living room. Logan moved to follow, but he was stopped by Patton’s voice.

“Hey, Logan?” Patton knelt down to be more at level with the counter. “Want to help me prep some snacks?” Logan looked down at himself, comparing their sizes.

“I’m not sure I’ll be of much assistance.” Logan admitted.

“Oh, sure you will.” Patton insisted. “Please?”

“Um, sure.” Logan watched as Roman fully left the room, leaving him alone with Patton. Logan had been alone with Patton before, of course, but unlike Roman the transition to come out in the open had not been so easy for Logan. Roman was younger, more naive; he accepted the human’s help easily. Logan still possessed a healthy fear of human beans.

“So, what should we do? Popcorn? Cookies?” Patton stood up a bit too quickly, causing Logan to flinch back. Patton took note of this and his smile dampened.

“My apologies.” Logan said, but Patton just shook his head.

“Oh no, I’m sorry Lo!” Patton insisted. “I just got too excited, is all. It’s not your fault.” He began pulling ingredients out for both kinds of snacks. Logan couldn’t help but think that Roman wouldn’t have flinched; he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Patton continued working on the cookie batter, while Logan sat there looking contemplative. Patton put the cookies into the oven before getting the popcorn prepped.

“Well, I would like to apologize for earlier.” Logan spoke up finally. “I think I may have upset everyone, although I’m not quite sure how.”

Patton froze for a moment, hand still in midair as he reached for the popcorn kernels.  “Well, yeah.” Patton gave him a sad smile. “I think it’s just… hard for everybody to think about not being together. It’s sad, because we don’t want to lose our friends.”

“But we can’t stay here forever.” Logan pointed out. “It’s not safe for borrowers to stay in one location for a long time.”

“Usually, maybe.” Patton shrugged. “But you have to admit that this isn’t exactly your normal location.”

“I would hate to be a burden on you, though.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “And while I know you’d both miss Roman terribly- “

“Now wait just a moment.” Patton interrupted, keeping his tone gentle yet stern. “Logan, you are not, nor will you ever be a burden. You are a guest. We love having you both here and want you to feel welcome to stay as long as you like. But if you did chose to leave, we would miss you just as much as Roman. You’re our friend too, Lo.” A beep from the oven suddenly made Patton shift his attention temporarily elsewhere, focusing on getting the cookies out.

“…oh.” Logan found this declaration to be surprising. After all, Roman was always the fun one. And it was certainly hard to not feel like a burden when, just as predicted, Logan hadn’t contributed anything useful to this snack prepping process. He sighed, pulling out his hook to head to the living room.

“Here, let me help!” Patton was quick to offer his hand, despite the fact that he still had to carry a plate of cookies and a bowl of popcorn.

“No, it’s alright.” Logan shook his head. “It’s clear you’ve got your hands full.”

“It’s okay!” Patton pointed to his shoulder. “You can just sit here!”

“Oh you don’t have to do that-” Logan was cut off.

“But I want to.” Patton insisted with a little smile. “Logan, you keep seeing yourself as this burden, but you don’t seem to realize that I want to help. It’s what friends do. You’ve just got to let me help you.”

“…alright.” Logan carefully climbed up onto Patton’s palm, still unused to these sensations. He waited until Patton put his hand up to his shoulder to climb off, clutching Patton’s cardigan tightly for balance. Patton gathered up the plate and bowl before moving into the living room.

“We’re back!” Patton announced happily.

“Excellent!” Roman grinned, sitting on the coffee table. Patton carefully set the dishes down next to him, making sure to not upset Logan’s position. Next Patton put his hand up next to Logan, but Logan didn’t let go.

“Um…” Logan wasn’t sure what had overcome him, but he didn’t feel like leaving Patton’s presence. “Actually, would it be alright if, perhaps, I stayed here for the film?” Logan wasn’t fully able to see Patton’s face, but the others could see how Patton’s eyes lit up at Logan’s question.

“Of course, Logan!” Patton said happily.Then Patton sat back on the couch next to Virgil, who pressed play on the remote. Roman grabbed a popcorn kernel, already munching away. Logan leaned against Patton’s neck, settling in.


	16. Is Roman shrinking or Logan growing? Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Tiny Roman and human Patton

“Logan?” Virgil knocked on the logical side’s door, waiting for an answer. When there was no response, he tried a few more times before pushing the door open. “C’mon buddy, I need you to…uh, Logan?” Virgil frowned, looking around. Logan was nowhere in sight.

“Hey Roman?” Virgil went to the creative side’s door next, giving it a knock. “Have you seen Logan?”

“I’m in here, Virgil.” Logan’s surprisingly deep voice said in a tired sigh. But then where was Roman? Virgil opened the door, and his mind immediately forgot what he was going to ask. In Roman’s room, a giant Logan seemed to be awkwardly sprawled in the middle of the floor. “Don’t be alarmed.” Logan instructed, but Virgil’s eyes were already widening as he took a cautious step back.

“…Patton?!” Virgil yelled down the hall. “Could you come here? It’s urgent!” Patton came bursting out of his room at Virgil’s call, nearly tackling Virgil in his enthusiasm.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?” Patton asked, to which Virgil just frantically waved in Logan’s direction. Patton’s eyes widened as well. “…oh!“

“It would seem that Roman and I have made an unfortunate discovery.” Logan explained.

“Where is Roman?” Patton asked, before looking around the room to spot a doll-sized Creativity. He gasped. “Oh, aren’t you just adorable!” Roman’s face seemed to flush with embarrassment as Logan hit his head on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“Patton, please refrain from referring to him in derogatory terms.” Logan rubbed his head. “It’s what has found us in this conundrum in the first place.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry Roman!” Patton immediately apologized, putting his hands to his mouth. “You look positively handsome.”

“Thanks, Padre.” Roman said with a small smile at the correction.

“Could someone please explain what’s going on?” Virgil said through gritted teeth, still trying not to panic at the sudden change.

“It seems that when Roman’s ego gets significantly bruised, he shrinks. But when he feels confident or passionate, he grows.” Logan explained. “And when one of us shrinks, another one grows.”

“So you were feeling insecure, Roman?” Patton looked at him with pity.

“I’m not insecure!” Roman protested.

“No, you shouldn’t be!” Patton scrambled up and over Logan’s legs to get to Roman, giving the smaller side a big hug. “You’re amazing, Roman. You’re so talented and special and you bring out the best ideas.” Though the hug was a bit overwhelming for the tiny prince, the praise was certainly welcomed. He could feel his confidence restoring, and with it his height.

“Wait, so we have to compliment Princey to turn everything back to normal?” Virgil clarified as he watched Logan shrink slightly.

“You can see why it’s been taking a while.” Logan muttered. After all, Logan had never been good at handing out praise.

“You are the best version of creativity we could ever ask for!” Patton continued with a large smile, adjusting his grip slightly to continue his hug as Roman grew. “You are just so sweet and pure and good and happy and wholesome and sweet and lovely and i’m running out of things to say…”

“Uh, Disney.” Virgil jumped in, noticing that Patton was getting distracted. “You know a lot about Disney, and that’s… pretty cool.” Virgil rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. Logan was now short enough to be able to once again stand in the room.

“Thomas depends on you for so many things.” Patton was happy to note that Roman was nearly back to normal. “You are so incredibly important and we all love you.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t say the most important-” Logan began to speak, but Patton shushed him.

“Not the time, nerd.” Virgil glared at Logan, causing the logical side to promptly shut up. “This isn’t about you. If you hadn’t made Roman insecure in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“As I recall, you were the one who upset him first.” Logan reminded him. Virgil cringed at the memory.

“Is that what this is about?” Virgil turned to Roman. “Look, dude, I’m sorry-”

“Virgil had already apologized.” Roman waved off Virgil’s second apology, almost looking like his normal height again. He marched over, point an accusing finger at Logan. “You, however, took my ego and shattered it on the ground for the sake of your little experiment.”

“Emphasis on little.” Logan said without thinking.

“How dare you use dad jokes to insult our dear Roman!” Patton said with a sad gasp, rushing over to give Roman another hug from behind.

“Do you really not have one nice thing to say about me?” Roman questioned. “We were in here together for over an hour and yet it took Patton less than two minutes to fix this.” He gestured between the two of them.

“At least I tried to help.” Virgil offered.

“You could stand to be kinder to your fellow sides, Lo.” Patton piped up, looking at Logan. “Maybe it’d be good if Roman helped! He could teach you some more creative ways of expressing your feelings!” Roman swelled a bit with pride.

“He’s already back to normal, Pat, you don’t have to keep inflating his ego.” Virgil said with a smirk.

“I do not need to be taught anything.” Logan looked offended at the suggestion. “I don’t experience emotions and therefore feel no need to express them.”

“C’mon, just try saying one nice thing about Roman.” Patton pressed on. “Anything at all!” Logan just stood there, his mind coming up blank.

“Oh just forget it Patton.” Roman sighed. “We don’t need him. He’ll just weigh us down at the party anyways.”

“Oh my goodness, I almost forgot about the party.” Patton’s eyes widened, suddenly realizing that Thomas should be heading there any moment now and no one was downstairs to help him. “All Thomas’ friends are going to be there! Let’s go!” Patton and Roman began to run back down the hall, giggling among themselves in anticipation.

“Hey, wait!” Virgil frantically chased after them, knowing someone had to keep the more excitable sides in line out in public.

This left one confused Logan standing alone in Creativity’s room. He glanced up at the holes he had made in the ceiling; had he really been that tall? It was a bit nice being that large, Logan had to admit. Though he could not make it through doorways, it was a welcome change to being consistently ignored. But now that he was back to his normal height, it seemed that everything was back to normal. At least now that Virgil was watching Roman, Logan didn’t need to go to the party. He could stay home and focus on his studies.

The others would be just fine without him. Again.

Logan returned to his room, not noticing that as he passed the doorway his head perfectly aligned with the small 5’8” mark.


	17. Wait is Logan shrinking now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (another part to the whole shrinking Roman/growing Logan scenario)
> 
> Prompt: What about “you know what, we make a pretty good team.” with Logan and Roman?

Logan sat back down at his desk, trying to refocus on his studies which had been so rudely interrupted by the night’s shenanigans. The benefit of everyone else being down at the party was that, for once, the mind palace was quiet. It was rare for Logan to ever find silence even in the comfort of his own room, and so he liked to take advantage of these moments before they inevitably were interrupted by one of the other side’s antics.

However, this particular evening Logan could not find the motivation to focus on his studies. Or anything productive, for that matter. Even trying to perfect the schedule for the coming week proved fruitless. All Logan could think about was his exchange with the creative side earlier in the evening.

Logan sighed, closing his eyes. How had he managed to once again prove his own insignificance? Patton had demonstrated it wasn’t difficult. All Logan had to do was indicate a few of Roman’s good attributes. But Logan had tried that- he had pointed out all the obvious facts. Logan had reminded Roman how he was ¼ of Thomas’ beneficial sides and that without Roman, Thomas would likely suffer.

Yet that hadn’t been enough. It was clear that Roman had required more than factual reassurances; he needed emotional support. Someone to reassure him with optimism and compliments rooted in feelings. This, Logan had no chance of providing.  It wasn’t logical for Logan to be able to assist then, because matters of the heart were not within his domain. No one should have expected him to be able to help Roman. It wasn’t his fault.

So why did he still feel as though he failed?

Logan began to swing his legs, contemplating this new train of thought. It was certainly strange to think of himself feeling anything, but there was no denying this tightening feeling in his chest. Logan couldn’t pinpoint the exact emotion- Guilt? Jealousy? Regret? - but whatever it was threatened to overwhelm his mind. Logan took a few deep breaths, trying to focus on the tactics he had seen Virgil use in the past.

Logan suddenly stopped swinging his legs. Since when did his legs not reach the floor? Logan opened his eyes and gasped, tumbling out of his chair in shock. When he quickly stood up, Logan noted that he was now at eye level with the surface of his desk, but that the desk seemed to be slowly rising above him.

The logical side frantically scrambled over to the discarded ruler from earlier, trying to measure himself to check the rate at which he was shrinking. Unfortunately, his clouded mind was finding it hard to focus. It was as though a wave had overcome him, and Logan could no longer hold the negative thoughts at bay. He was rapidly reaching a height smaller than even Roman had gotten. Was it possible for him to become so minuscule that the others wouldn’t even be able to view him with the naked eye? If that happened, would anyone even notice he was gone?

No, Logan shook his head at the thought. The others were bound to notice what happened as at least one of them was sure to grow. They would know what happened to him; whether they would miss him was another issue entirely.

Logan let out a frightened yelp as he shrunk further at this depressing train of thought. He couldn’t let these emotions get the better of him; he was logic, and logic should not be influenced by passing feelings!

But what could he do? Clearly he needed to be grounded, much like Virgil would need during a panic attack. Perhaps not so far as a shower of compliments like Patton had given Roman, although it likely wouldn’t hurt. Yes, it was becoming increasingly clear that this was not an issue he could solve alone. It would at least be beneficial to get the other’s involvement so that they could try and prevent any further episodes of this nature.

Logan ran over to his bedroom door, now realizing just how high above his head the knob now was. He took a running leap at it and missed entirely. A second and third attempt failed as well. The fourth attempt Logan finally managed to catch hold, but his weight was not enough to get the blasted mechanism to turn. With a small cry of frustration, Logan felt his grip slipping and he fell painfully onto the carpeted floor below.

Logan groaned, moving closer to the door. What was the point, anyways? It’s not like he could let Thomas see him like this, he’d just see how infinitesimal Logan truly was. Logan would lose the last shred of respect he still had within the group. In fact, perhaps it would be best not to bother any of the sides with this conundrum. Was it really worth becoming the laughing stock of the mind palace? No one was going to take him seriously when he could be coddled and viewed like a marionette come to life.

No, it was best that Logan just stay here. He could deal with this himself; he had to, or else it would just prove how useless he had become. The others dealt with emotions on a daily basis. If Logan wasn’t able to do the same, then he would be forever one step behind.

Logan sat back against the door, trying not to indulge in the feelings of self-pity, tempting as they were. They would surely dwindle his height even further.

It was then that the floor began to shake, and with the addition of loud, booming laughter Logan realized with a jolt that the mini earthquake was merely a side effect of his fellow sides returning.

“-was so much fun!” Patton sounded slightly out of breath but incredibly joyful.

“It was, surprisingly not….awful.” Even Virgil admitted.

“I’m glad you came with us, kiddo.” Patton said. “It’s good for you to get out! And I think Logan enjoys getting a break.”

“You know what, we make a pretty good team!” Roman said enthusiastically. “We’re like the three amigos.”

“Yeah!” Patton agreed. “We should do this again! It’d be great!”

“Just the three of us.” Roman repeated.

Logan buried his head in his knees. He tried to keep his thinking logical, but those pesky emotions began to creep in and twist around his mind as he tried to sort out the facts: They had an enjoyable evening. Logan was not present and they had an enjoyable, productive evening. He was unnecessary for them to find joy. They wished to have more evenings free of his presence in this same manner. He was not needed. He was not wanted.

He was useless.


	18. Punk Analogical Origins pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's very bad day just keeps getting worse when he accidentally ends up in the Giant District.

“Virgil?” There was a knock at the young teen’s bedroom door. “It’s time to get up, you’ll be late for school.”

“No thanks.” Virgil’s voice was muffled by his pillow. “I’d kinda rather lay here and die.”

“What was that?” His mom, thankfully, didn’t hear his sarcastic retort.

“I said I’m coming!” Virgil lifted his head up to be heard. He knew it’d be worse if he stayed in bed; after all, if he didn’t get up then his dad would get involved. And Virgil would get yelled at, and then mom would yell at dad for yelling at Virgil, and then Virgil would just be a little more of a burden on their relationship.

So, Virgil begrudgingly got out of bed, already pondering all the ways today could go poorly. Virgil threw on a relatively clean pair of jeans and his signature hoodie, pulling the strings so tight that no one would be able to properly see his face. He gathered up his backpack, stuffing his notebooks in and cringing as they folded over each other in an unorganized flop. Virgil peeked his head out into the hallway, not stopping to grab breakfast before he snuck out just in time to catch the bus.

Virgil sighed, pressing his head up against the glass and trying to get a few blessed moments of rest. Why did school have to be every day? Didn’t he deserve a break by now? He held his backpack close, hands slowly tracing the various buttons adorning it. The wannabe emo watched as the buildings grew larger and larger, the bus being cast entirely in shadows as it entered the Giant district.

Virgil sat up with a jolt, realizing his mistake. His high school was on the human side of town. They must have past his stop some time ago while Virgil wasn’t paying attention. He started to reach up for the yellow cord to signal the bus driver… but something stopped him from committing to it. Did he really want to get off the bus here, in the middle of the Giant district? Virgil had only been here a handful of times, and certainly never on his own. Perhaps it would be best if he just kept riding the bus until it looped back to the human side. Or maybe he could just ride the bus all day and avoid school entirely, leaving his troubles far behind...

“Alright, last stop. Everybody off.”

Okay, maybe not. So much for avoiding his problems entirely.

Virgil stood up, slowly shuffling towards the open doors waiting him at the front of the bus along with the other stragglers that were still on. Once they were off, all the adults split off to go about their business, not even paying the 15-year-old a second glance.

Virgil shivered, pulling his hoodie closer to himself. The Giant’s district seemed even colder than usual, because here the wind threatened to whip him right off his feet. He was a fool. He knew he was a fool; his parents told him so often enough for it to stick. But this time, Virgil knew he had gone too far.

Where did he even plan to go? Virgil began to scold himself internally. He didn’t have any plan. Virgil had dashed out the back door this morning while his parents were distracted, not even stopping to grab a proper coat. He didn’t think he’d need one today, considering he had expected to spend the day in class.

Virgil’s feet began to move on their own accord, picking a direction at random. He tried to look up at the street signs to find his way back, but they were far too tall for the little human to read. Strangely, Virgil didn’t notice any Giants about here either. For that, he was grateful; Giants were terrifying. He had heard plenty of horror stories where Giants had used their size to their advantage, harming humans in ways that upset Virgil’s stomach to even consider.

It was times like this that Virgil wished, not for the first time, that his parents trusted him with a cellular device. But Virgil’s father was quick to point out how distracted Virgil got in class even without a phone. Virgil’s mother agreed, saying that until his attentiveness picked up he would not be getting a cell phone any time soon. It was one of the few topics on which his parents actually agreed.

“Dude, check this out!” Virgil hadn’t even noticed where he was going until a particularly large shadow fell over him. Virgil froze, slowly taking in the size of the converse coming straight for him-!

Virgil let out a less than manly scream, ducking down to try and avoid being trampled. There was loud, cruel laughter far above his head. Virgil felt his face redden in embarrassment, but at least the converse stopped just a few feet ahead.

“Oh my god, it’s so tiny.” A second voice joined in as a pair of brown boots entered Virgil’s field of vision as well.

“Watch this.” Converse said, one foot reeling back before rushing towards Virgil again.

“Don’t hurt it!” Brown boots protested, but the shoe was already colliding with Virgil’s side, sending the human flying off into the grass that was planted next to the sidewalk. He tumbled for a few feet, landing with one final thud on the frozen dirt that sent all the air out of his lungs.

“Nah, see? It’s fine.” Virgil scrambled to his feet, trying to get away before anything worse happened. But as he tried to back further away, Virgil found there was a stone wall blocking his path that spread out in both directions. He was cornered, with two pairs of shoes quickly coming closer.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Three, now there were three pairs of giant shoes in front of him. A Giant individual with large black combat boots had joined the discussion going on above his head, sounding furious. Virgil cowered at the tone, not daring to crane his neck back to meet this stranger’s face.

“Augh, don’t tell me you’re a human sympathizer too.” The converse groaned. “First enbies, now this?”

“It seems my lesson about basic decency didn’t penetrate your thick skull the first time.” The combat boots stomped towards the converse. “Here, let me help with that.”

“Now, now!” The brown boots quickly stepped in between the two, sensing a confrontation on the rise. “Let’s not make this physical, boys.”

“Well I’m not going to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.” The combat boots sassily retorted.

“OH, THAT’S IT!” Virgil covered his ears at the volume of shouting that broke out as the converse-clad Giant launched himself at the combat boots guy. A moment later there was a loud cracking sound, followed by a scream of fright from brown boots.

“Guys, please!” Brown boots continued to plead as a full-on fight broke out. Virgil pressed himself further against the wall, trying to remain as hidden as possible. His face turned an ashen gray as a few drops of blood fell onto the sidewalk in front of him. This was so very, very bad. He was stuck only a couple feet away from a Giant brawl, and even if these Giants were kind (which seemed unlikely by this point) Virgil was as good as dead if he ended up in the middle of this violence.

The ground shook, sending Virgil to his knees once again. Looking to his right, Virgil saw that the converse Giant seemed to have fallen, and now Virgil could get a look at his face. He was huge, and his eyes harbored more malice than Virgil would have guessed was possible. The human shuddered, glad that gaze still seemed reserved for the other Giant. Virgil was also happy to note that this Giant’s nose was broken. It felt like a bit of good karma for being kicked like a soccer ball just a few minutes ago. It seemed this broken nose was the source of the blood.

“This isn’t over, Sanders!” The Giant threatened, being helped to his feet by brown boots. The two made a hasty retreat, one still clutching his nose.

Virgil was glad to see them go, and it took a large portion of weight off his chest. However, looking forward, Virgil noticed that the combat boots individual- who had just proven he possessed enough strength to easily break a Giant’s nose, no less- had yet to leave. In fact, those strong, intimidating black boots were now facing him. Virgil gulped.


	19. Punk Analogical Origins Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Hi there! So I loved your little story with punk Logan and Virgil and I'm totally interested in reading more if you want to write it! Idk if you want any prompts, but from the list I could see either, "you're freezing. Come here." Or "Here let me help" in a scene where the two meet for the first time. You are a really great writer! :) Have a good day!
> 
> (omg so sweet I loved this ask)

  
“Mr. Sanders, that is enough!” The teacher stood there, face red with frustration. Logan stood in front of him, unmoved. If anything, Logan just seemed a bit bored. “I will not be made a fool of in my own class.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there.” Logan shrugged. “Only a fool would continue to teach these lies, so by all accounts your yourself must be-”

“Out!” The teacher pointed to the door, looking as though he would bite Logan’s head off given the opportunity. Logan sauntered out, several kids giving him glares as he left. He was used to this treatment; his big mouth got him into trouble just about every day of the week. He couldn’t deny his punk nature, though; whenever he heard something factually incorrect, Logan felt the need to inform the individual of their ignorance. Said individual usually did not appreciate his efforts.

“Ah, Logan.” Mr. Picani, the school counselor, gave him a wave of greeting as they passed in the hall. He glanced at the clock. “You’re early, it’s not even second period. What was it this time?”

“Textbook misprint.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “Which led to an argument over Pluto’s planetary status.”

“Hang on, where do you think you’re going?” Picani raised an eyebrow, noticing that Logan was heading towards the door.

“Out.” Logan gave a sly smirk, feeling clever. “I’m just doing as I was told.”

“Logan.” Picani said sternly, "i'm sure that's not what he meant,-" but Logan was already out the door.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” Logan called over his shoulder. He knew that the counselor wouldn’t follow him; Picani was too chill for that, and Picani would know by now that Logan just needed to blow off some steam. Logan appreciated his understanding.

Gazing out down the front steps, it seemed Logan wasn’t the only one skipping class. His eyes darkened, recognizing a jock he had gotten into a tussle with just last week over the existence of non-binary folks. Next to him stood a girl Logan also knew,who seemed to possess the brain span of a single bacteria cell. The two seemed to be inspecting something on the ground that Logan couldn’t quite see from this side of the stairs. But, a moment later when he heard a tiny scream, Logan realized what was going on.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Logan quickly stormed over to them, eyes blazing with rage.

“Augh, don’t tell me you’re a human sympathizer too.” The jock groaned. “First enbies, now this?” Logan’s hands curled into fists at his side, fingernails digging into his skin.

“It seems my lesson about basic decency didn’t penetrate your thick skull the first time.” Logan growled, taking a step forward and glaring down at the shorter athlete. “Here, let me help with that.”

“Now, now!” The cheerleader stepped in front of him, and her high pitched voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard in Logan’s skull. “Let’s not make this physical, boys.” Logan couldn’t help but think that things got physical the moment the other Giant had decided it was alright to use a human like a soccer ball.

“Well I’m not going to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.” Logan raised an eyebrow, daring him to make the first move.

“OH, THAT’S IT!” The girl dodged out of the way as the jock made a lunge at Logan. Logan was ready for this, and before the bully could get a hit on him his fist was connecting with the bridge of the athlete’s nose.

The rest was a blur. Logan felt as though he was seeing red, glad that this time he could beat the pulp out of this dude without a teacher interrupting. A few times Logan vaguely felt himself get punched in the stomach, but the pain didn’t register to his brain with all the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Bringing his knee up, Logan hit the athlete square in the chest, sending the cruel Giant tumbling to the ground. The girl was quick to help him up, supporting him as they backed away.

“This isn’t over, Sanders!” The boy threatened, but his threat was far less intimidating while he was leaning on his friend’s shoulders and clutching his broken nose. The two hobbled away, accepting defeat.

Logan watched them leave, feeling his breathing return to normal. That was one way to blow off steam, he supposed.

Now with the immediate threat taken care of, Logan began to scan the ground for the human. Pressed against the stone steps, there it was. It- or rather, he- looked rather young, trembling there in a tiny black hoodie. Logan had seen the occasional human before, of course, but he didn’t interact with them on a regular basis. He had no reason to go into the human part of town, and very rarely did humans come to the Giant side. Especially humans as young as this one. In the middle of a school day.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Logan asked, realizing his voice was gruffer than intended when the human just seemed to shake harder.

“I-...I-” The human stuttered along, pulling his arms close to his chest. “I missed my bus stop.”

“I’ll say.” Logan felt slightly bad for him, going over the bus routes in his brain. He sat down, both to try and look a little less intimidating and to hear the human better. “Why didn’t you just get back on the bus?”

“...” The human clearly hadn’t thought of that. Logan could almost see a slight tinge of pink on his tiny cheeks in embarrassment.

“You ever been here before, kid?” Logan asked.

“I’m not a kid.” The kid looked up at him briefly, annoyance masking his fear briefly. “I’m 15.”

“Sorry.” Logan amended. He still considered 15 to be a kid, but he knew how frustrating it was to have older people not take you seriously due to your age. He still had that problem, and he was 17. “What’s your name?”

“Why do you wanna know?” The human sounded suspicious.

“What, you think I’m up to something?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “What possible motive could I have for your name? If I wanted to do something I could’ve done it by now.” This seemed to be the wrong response, as the human only shivered harder.

“...Sorry.” Logan found himself apologizing again. He was never one for tact, which was something that was helpful when you were a Giant trying not to terrify a human to death. “I’m not gonna do anything.” Logan paused, briefly picking at his shoe. “My name’s Logan.”

“Virgil.” It was a quiet response, but Logan appreciated that he hadn’t scared the human mute. Logan noticed that the shivering seemed stronger than ever. It felt a bit chilly to the Giant, so he could only imagine how Virgil was feeling.

“Are you cold?” Logan asked.

“N-no.” Virgil lied, his teeth chattering. Logan gave him a deadpan look.

“You’re freezing. Come here.” It wasn’t a request. Logan reached out his hand, watching Virgil cower away from his fingers. It made Logan’s heart ache, but he wasn’t about to watch this human freeze to death when he could do something about it.


	20. Yeah Logan shrunk but nobody is acknowledging it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 4 to the whole people are shrinking because they're a mess thing.
> 
> Prompt: "You don't have to deal with everything alone" following the story you've been doing with Logan and Roman? Honestly I just really want to see how it continues :v

Patton, Virgil, and Roman dashed up the stairs back to the mind palace hallway, only stopping to catch their breath at the top. 

 

“That was so much fun!” Patton giggled. He had thought it might be difficult to have a good time at the party with Virgil having to work with Thomas’ social anxiety the whole time, but for the evening Virgil had decided to turn it down a notch. 

 

“That was, surprisingly not...awful.” Virgil admitted, his usually chill demeanor melting a bit to show a small smile. 

 

“I’m glad you came with us, kiddo.” Patton said sincerely, throwing his arms around Virgil in a quick hug. “It’s good for you to get out! And I think Logan enjoys getting a break.” The three of them briefly shot a look toward Logan’s door, but even the logical side couldn’t get them down right now.

 

“You know what, we make a pretty good team!” Roman threw his arms around both their shoulders, although Virgil was quick to duck out of this gesture. “We’re like the three amigos!” 

 

“Yeah, we should do this again!” Patton smiled at Roman as Virgil started to retreat to his room, seeming to have reached his social limit for the night. “It’d be great!”

 

“Just the three of us-” Roman looked ready to continue on, but a loud thud stopped him.

 

“Ow!” Virgil clutched his forehead, looking annoyed.

 

“Virgil, what happened?” Patton asked, coming over to inspect Virgil’s injury.

 

“I’m fine, Pat.” Virgil assured him. “I just hit my head on my doorway, is all.”

 

“You did?” Patton frowned, remembering the events from earlier in the day. Eyes widening, Patton rushed over to embrace Roman in a huge hug. “Roman, you’re amazing and I love you!”

 

“Uh, thank you?” Roman said, clearly confused. 

 

“...wait a second.” Patton pulled away, looking at Roman. He held up a hand to compare his height to Roman’s, noticing that Roman was still at eye level. “You’re not short.”

 

“Yes, thank you.” Roman rolled his eyes. “We took care of that earlier, remember?”

 

“Yeah, you don’t need to keep coddling him.” Virgil smirked. But Patton still looked uneasy. He went over to Virgil, now comparing his height as well.

 

“How’re you feeling, Virgil?” Patton asked. 

 

“Fine?” Virgil repeated, watching Patton’s hand move over his head and then back to Patton’s head as it tried to decide if the anxious side was taller. “I told you, I just hit my head…”

 

“But why did you hit your head?” Patton pressed on. 

 

“Because I’m an idiot?” Virgil offered. Patton made a small noise of protest at this answer.

 

“Patton, relax.” Roman assured him, walking over to join the two. “We’re all the same height, see? No need to worry.”

 

Patton actually looked  _ down  _ at the top of the doorway as he inspected it. His frown deepened. “We may be the same height kiddos, but we’re not our height.”

 

“But then what…?” Virgil trailed off, the two of them turning to look in the direction of Logan’s room. Roman followed their gaze, raising an eyebrow.

 

“What, you’re serious?” Roman questioned. “You think microsoft nerd is feeling down in the dumps? He’s never felt anything in his life!”

 

“Maybe it’s us, then?” Virgil said with a shrug. “I mean, Logan wasn’t really feeling anything before, but he still grew because of you.”

 

“Oh, so because we actually  _ went out _ and had a good time and feel good about ourselves, unlike a certain recluse,” Roman said, a bit cockily with a pointed look towards Logan’s door once again. “We got a height boost.”

 

“Gotta say, this is the first time in a while I’ve not been the recluse.” Virgil smirked. “Or that i’ve felt good about myself. Not surprised that something bad came out of it.”

 

“I will physically fight you.” Patton scolded. There were already enough negative emotions floating around the mind palace; Patton could feel them. 

 

“Well, isn’t that how we’ll return things to normal?” Roman offered. “Talking bad about ourselves? If that makes us shrink, that should do the trick. Although it’s going to be hard to come up with anything bad about myself, of course.”

 

“You were literally a foot tall this morning because you couldn’t stop beating yourself up.” Virgil reminded him. “I think you’ll be fine.” Roman sent him a glare.

 

“No, no more negativity.” Patton said sternly. “All we have to do is get Logan feeling good about himself then, and then we’ll all be back to normal!”

 

“But Logan’s not a  _ feeling _ .” Roman insisted. “There’s no way we’re breaking through that robotic interior any time soon to get any  _ real  _ emotions.”

 

“And Logan’s ego is not something that needs to be inflated.” Virgil spoke up. “He already acts stuck-up as it is.”

 

“I say, we just sleep this off.” Roman offered. “By the morning we should be back to normal. And if we’re not, we can deal with it then.” Virgil nodded.

 

“But-” 

 

“Patton.” Virgil pulled morality off to the side, speaking quietly so Roman couldn’t hear. “Even if you’re right, I doubt Logan wants us to see him like this. It’ll just bruise his ego more. The best thing we can do is give him some space.” Patton still looked unsure, so Virgil continued. “I know you just want to help, but not everybody wants compliments and cuddles when they’re feeling down. Logan’s the kind of guy who wants to be able to pull himself up by his bootstraps. So give him a chance to at least try, alright?”

 

“...alright.” Patton sighed, seeing Virgil’s point. That didn’t mean he had to like it, though.

 

“Great!” Roman clapped his hands together, looking pleased. “Then it’s settled. I’ll see you all in the morning!” Roman turned to enter his room, only to also hit his head on the doorway. He muttered a few curses, ducking down and out of sight before closing the door behind him. Virgil was more careful, this time entering his own room without gaining another bruise. 

 

This left Patton alone in the hallway. He understood what Virgil was saying, but he couldn’t help but think that...maybe Virgil was wrong. It wouldn’t hurt to at least offer to help, right?

 

Very quietly, Patton gave a small knock on Logan’s door.

 

“Logan?” Patton called out. “May I come in?” There was no answer, so Patton just continued to speak through the door. “I know you might be feeling some...things right now, and I want you to know that they’re normal. If you let me come in, maybe I can help?” 

 

Patton sighed at the silence that greeted him.

 

“You don’t have to deal with everything alone, you know.” Patton said quietly, not even sure if his voice could be heard on the other side of the door. 

 

….

 

“Goodnight, Logan.” Patton gave the door a small wave goodbye, heading back to his room as the feeling of unease in his chest only continued to grow.


	21. Caged Borrower!Logan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “you’re a horrible liar. i’ve known you far too long to be able to tell” with Patton and Logan.

Logan leaned against the bars of the cage, letting them assist him in keeping his balance as the ground shook. By now Logan could recognize the sounds of one of the humans approaching. He crossed his arms and turned his face to the side, trying to portray through his posture that he was indifferent to the giant shadow now looming over him.

“I brought you something.” The human’s voice rumbled softly through his bones, and Logan realized that Patton was using that quiet tone again. Logan hated that tone; though it was gentle on his ears, it also reminded him of the way one would speak to an infant. It was demeaning, and Logan felt his fists clench subconsciously.

“It’s some food.” Out of the corner of his eye Logan saw Patton hold out some bread, as if explaining that is was edible. As if Logan was too incompetent to know that. “I know you’re hungry.”

Logan shook his head to deny the claim, despite its truth.

“You’re a horrible liar.” Patton teased. “I’ve known you far too long to be able to tell.”

Logan didn’t even dignify this with a response. He hadn’t even been here a week. This human didn’t know anything about him.

“Here.” Patton opened the cage door with an irritating squeak of the joints and set the bread down in front of him anyways.

 _I don’t want it_. Logan continued glaring at the wall, not looking at the human but still keeping him in his peripheral for safety. Logan knew by now that it wasn’t even worth making a break for it. Slowly the hand retreated, and the cage door once again closed. The bread remained untouched.

“You haven’t eaten since you got here.” Patton said quietly, looking concerned. “You should eat something.”

It was true that the hunger was gnawing away at Logan from the inside, but he refused to eat anything these humans offered him. To take their charity would just make him dependent on them. He refused to let himself become little more than a pet. And if that meant he had to starve himself? Then so be it.

“Are you thirsty?” Patton asked, leaning closer to peer in through the cage bars as he sat at the desk.

Logan shook his head again, not trusting his parched voice to speak even he wanted to answer. A few times he had broken and taken some of the water that was left out in a dish, mocking him in this prison. It was hard to keep his body from trying to survive, but he still managed to limit his water intake as much as possible.

“...okay, looks good at least.” Logan noticed Patton checking the level of water left, regardless of Logan’s answer. Of course, why would Logan’s answer hold any weight? No one was going to listen to him regardless. The humans didn't even trust him to answer if he had drunk water, instead trusting the amount of water left as a comparison. Logan considered kicking the dish for holding a higher position of respect than him in the human's eyes.

“Just tell me if you need anything, okay kiddo?” Patton’s pitying gaze was received with a small, almost inaudible scoff. “You’re not looking too good. Try to eat something and get some rest. I’ll be back later to check on you.”

 _How reassuring_. Logan thought sarcastically, feeling the tremors retreat as the human once again left him alone.


	22. Pizza Aromatherapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is a sequel to Ch. 7, "Borrowers need to eat, too". 
> 
> Prompt: “you deserve so much better.” Roman and Thomas?

Thomas groaned, slowly rejoining the walking world. His head was still throbbing and the pain in his abdomen seemed to increase as a heavenly aroma filled his nostrils. Thomas let out a small whimper, head turning towards the smell.

“That’s it.” A deep, rumbling,  _human_  voice shook Thomas to his core. Thomas blinked, trying to regain his bearings as he looked around. The borrower’s eyes widened, noticing a slice of pizza larger than himself being waved back and forth slowly in front of his face. Subconsciously Thomas’ head turned to follow it, mouth already watering.

“You hungry, little fella?” That voice snapped Thomas out of his trance. Thomas forced himself to look further than the food, noticing the human arm holding it aloft. His eyes scanned up the limb, the borrower paling as he met Roman’s gaze. But surprisingly, the human didn’t look as excited or exuberant as usual. In fact, if Thomas didn’t know any better, he’d say Roman looked…concerned.

“No…” The borrower reached out his hands pleadingly as the pizza was taken away, still overcome by his instincts to eat. A vague part of him remembered that it was important not to talk to humans, but he couldn’t remember why. A large growl emitted from Thomas’ stomach, causing Roman to chuckle faintly.

“Just a minute.” Roman teased. “I need to cut it up first.”

Thomas watched, confused, as Roman took a knife to the pizza and began cutting off the tip. A moment later Roman’s hand was once again in front of Thomas, holding out a tiny chunk of pizza but coming no further.

Why wasn’t the human trying to grab him? Hurt him? Question him? Roman was never this quiet before. Usually he was yelling all about the house and hurting Thomas’ ears. Seeing the human’s softer side was…concerning.

“You can take it.” Roman prompted, and that was all Thomas needed. He leaned forward, taking the slice and then retreating back. He took a bite of the pizza, letting out a moan as it touched his lips. It felt so nice to have actual food after all this time. But not only that, this was warm food. A rare delicacy for borrowers. Today, though, Thomas had no time to enjoy it. His stomach made it very clear that it wanted food  _now_ , so Thomas shoveled the pizza into his mouth as fast as he could without choking himself.

Just as Thomas was finishing up, another chunk was offered to him. Thomas took it eagerly, too focused on the elation of finally filling his body to remain anxious.

Of course, as soon as he was full- actually  _full_ , Thomas wasn’t sure that had ever happened before- those anxious feelings returned full force. He glanced up at Roman nervously, unsure of the human’s intentions.

“Wow, you were hungry.” Roman commented, putting the last bit of pizza back into the box. Thomas just gave a sheepish nod. “I’m…sorry about that.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “If I had known, well, I could’ve left some food out or something. You deserve so much better than a human like me.”

_Huh._ Thomas never expected to see a human apologize to him. And really, it wasn’t Roman’s fault. Thomas should have known better and gone somewhere else for food.

“Well…” Thomas gulped, noticing how the second he spoke he had the human’s full attention. That was a bit unnerving. “I mean, you weren’t exactly  _supposed_  to know.”

 

 


	23. School Stowaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the g/t drabbles, what about "I'm saying this because I care about you" with Logan and Roman? I love your writing!

Roman was sat at the kitchen table, thoughtfully chewing on a piece of toast while looking over his homework from the previous night. His laptop bag was laying on its side nearby, and his pet tiny was sat leaning against it. Well, ‘pet’ was a harsh term. Roman preferred cute little friend, who he just happened to also take care of and feed.

Speaking of which, Logan had his own little piece of toast, topped with his favorite jam. However, this morning, the tiny had barely touched it. Roman looked over at Logan’s behavior, raising an eyebrow.

“Something on your mind?” Roman’s question caused the tiny to jump.

“Ah, well, yes.” Logan admitted, looking unsure. “It’s important.”

“More important than crofter’s?” Roman teased with a smile.

“I want to accompany you to school.” Logan said, and Roman’s smile fell.

“What?” Roman put his cereal to the side, now focused on what his tiny was saying.

“I want to accompany you to school.” Logan repeated.

“No, I heard what you said, it’s just…” Roman pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, I can’t let you do that.” Roman had thought about doing that in the past, actually. High school was terribly boring at times and a tiny companion would be fun, but… “Look, i’m saying this because I care about you. School is  _dangerous_. It’s no place for a tiny.”

Logan frowned at Roman’s tone. He was not a fan of the way Roman occasionally treated him as though he were a child.

“…fine.” Logan finally spoke up, watching as Roman got up and turned around to wash his dishes. “I suppose if you refuse to further my education, I shall have to educate myself.”

“Logan.” Roman groaned, finishing the dishes. He looked over to apologize, but the tiny was already gone. Likely he sulked off to one of his hidden corners to read a textbook or something. “Don’t be like that, c’mon.”

“Roman, come on dear.” His mother called from the front room. “You’re going to miss the bus.”

“Coming, mom!” Roman grabbed up the tiny’s abandoned piece of toast and popped it into his mouth, heading out the door with his bag in tow. He waved to the bus driver, heading to the back and sitting with his bag in his lap.

Roman looked out the window thoughtfully, mind still on the conversation from this morning. It wasn’t fair, truly. Logan should be allowed the opportunity to learn just as much as Roman. The tiny had to be the only teenager _actually_ interested in the concept of High School and yet he couldn’t go. Roman tried to bring him notes and books, but always Logan seemed to have questions that he couldn’t answer. It just left them feeling both disappointed. Roman sighed, rubbing his fingers along his bag.

…only to pause as he felt a squirming beneath his fingertips.


	24. Virgil and the Beanstalk (pt. 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “you’re freezing. come here” with Roman and Virgil
> 
> “you’re freezing. come here.” with Roman and Virgil :D
> 
> “don’t listen to them. they’re just jealous of how cute you are” and Prinxiety?
> 
> “don’t listen to them. they’re just jealous of how cute you are” With Patton and Virgil? ~🏹
> 
> "Don't listen to them. They're just jealous of how cute you are" With human Logan and tiny Virgil pls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I started combining some prompts, especially duplicates. Also I'm posting this here because it does include prompts but also this is only Part 1 of a project that keeps growing so i'm probably going to post this as its own story as well.)

Virgil’s life had never been great. Of course, things only got worse when he met a shifty looking man in the woods who was trying to give him-

  
“Magic beans.” Virgil deadpanned, not believing it for a second.

 

“Now now now, young man, don’t be so distrusting.” The snake-like figure held out his palm, displaying three luminescent green beans. Virgil did admit they looked strange, but likely they were just poisonous. “I have used them myself, and while I have no use for them now there is at least a little magic left encased in these precious beans. Plant these under the pale moonlight and I assure you that you shall see fabulous riches beyond your wildest dreams.”

 

“Yeah, no thanks.” Virgil said, pushing the hand away. “I’m not exactly the ‘dreamer’ type.” He walked away from the man, unaware that as he brushed by the stranger slipped the beans into his pocket. 

 

The beans bounced along in the fabric, eager to find the ground again. When Virgil got home, he took off his coat and laid it on the table. Instantly the beans rolled out, moving as if on their own towards the cracks in the floor. Virgil in his exhausted state didn’t even notice their sudden appearance, nor the faint glow that was briefly seen as the beans planted themselves into the soil.

 

Of course, it was hard  _ not  _ to notice when the house began to shake. Virgil froze, grabbing onto his bed frame to stay upright as the structure around him rumbled, and seemed to shoot...up? 

 

He gasped, watching part of the house be ripped apart as vines began to intertwine around his home. A hole opened in the floor, through which Virgil could see the ground quickly disappearing beneath him as he ascended into the clouds via this strange, monstrous plant. Virgil let out an unholy screech, frantically spouting off every profanity he knew as his knuckles turned white. 

 

All of a sudden, the fast ascent stopped. Thrown by the sudden change, Virgil was tossed forwards into the hole. He screamed, landing on one of the many giant leaves the plant had sprouted along its growth spurt. 

 

“Nononono-” Virgil tried to cling to it and climb back up, but the leaf seemed to have a will of its own. It tiled to the right, causing Virgil to roll off the side. He braced himself, ready to fall for a very long time, but after what felt like only a moment Virgil landed on something with a hard  _ oof.  _

Slowly blinking his eyes open, it took a moment for Virgil to realize he wasn’t dead. Looking up, he could see the beanstalk had finally stopped growing several meters above him. His house rested at the top, or at least...what was left of it. Virgil sat up, realizing he was sitting on one of the clouds. The beanstalk went further down to the Earth below via a gap in said cloud, which Virgil quickly scooted away from lest he fall in. 

 

“What the hell is this?” Virgil stood up, glancing wearily at his surroundings. The beanstalk didn’t seem to be the only giant plant around here. What looked to be thick stalks of grass protruded from the ground to his left, expanding into a massive field. The shortest of these came up to his chest, but many if they stood straight would be above his head. Virgil glanced to his right, noticing how close he was standing to the edge of the cloud. Virgil gulped, deciding to take his chances in the grass field.  

 

Virgil carefully tracked through the grass, noticing how strangely cold it was up here. He shivered, wishing he hadn’t taken off his coat back home. He couldn’t stop gazing around, growing more and more anxious as he saw that the grass was only the first sign he was in over his head. This whole  _ world  _ was giant, and it seemed as though in the center of the land (where Virgil was heading) was a giant castle.

 

Suddenly he paused.  _ Waaaait a minute… _ Why would a castle be so grand? Surely no human could open the gate. Virgil would have to step between the bars. Indeed, standing this close now it was clear that  _ no one  _ could move that huge door.

 

...no one human, that is.

 

As if solely to confirm his fears, Virgil heard a thumping approaching. He paled, legs quaking more than the dirt beneath him as he turned to see the source of the noise. Out of the woods a Giant appeared, his thunderous voice nearly hurting Virgil’s ears the closer they came. He seemed to be singing a song Virgil didn’t recognize, a pack slung on his back and a sword at his hip. Virgil gulped, trying not to imagine just how deadly an armed Giant would be. 

 

The Giant seemed to stop, momentarily confused as it looked at something on the ground. He crouched down to examine it, and with a growing sense of dread Virgil realized that it had spotted the beanstalk. It’s almost predatory eyes followed something in the grass, almost as if he was hunting some thing d- oh, oh no. Virgil’s breath hitched as the Giant’s gaze fell on him, a loud gasp sounding across the field.

 

Instantly Virgil bolted the other direction, ducking between the bars of the gate and sprinting as though his life depended on it. 

 

“Wait!” He could hear the Giant running after him, shaking the ground again. Virgil glanced around, looking for a place to hide. He turned around briefly, only for his jaw to drop as he watched the Giant vault  _ over  _ the fence and land with such a tremendous thud that Virgil was knocked to the ground. He groaned, trying to scramble to his feet, but before he had the chance a large shadow overtook him. 

 

Virgil yelped, feeling a tugging sensation on his leg as he was hoisted upside-down into the air. Not for the first time today the ground disappeared beneath him, and he began to tremble at the sight. 

 

“Great Odin, you’re  _ freezing _ !” The Giant exclaimed. “Come here.” Before Virgil could even process what was happening the world whirled around. He was now upside-right again but smothered in darkness. 

 

“Patton, I found another one!” The Giant’s voice shook all around him, making Virgil realize he had been pressed to the Giant’s chest. He squirmed, trying desperately to cover his ears as the Giant continued to be far too  _ loud.  _

 

“Oh?” A second voice responded, and as Virgil was shaken about he realized the Giant was going inside towards the individual he guessed was Patton. “Let me see!” 

 

The grip around Virgil shifted, light temporarily blinding him as he was now held in a fist. He squinted against the light, wanting to bring an arm up to shield his eyes but both his arms were trapped by his sides. Slowly his vision adjusted, and Virgil realized two Giant faces were crowding his view. He gulped. 

 

“Aww, he’s so cute.” The one with glasses cooed, and Virgil flinched when he brought a hand up to Virgil’s head and began, ugh,  _ petting  _ him. “Where’d you find him, Roman?” 

 

“Out in the garden.” Roman explained, and Virgil noticed he looked a bit smug about his ‘discovery’. “Another one of those weeds popped up, but this one looked like it went straight through a doll house.” For some reason, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

 

“Hey!” Virgil yelled, causing Patton’s hand to jerk away. He tried to stay brave, letting his anger override his fear as he glared defiantly up at his captors. “That was  _ my  _ house, you giant oaf!”

 

There was a relatively quiet gasp as Patton put his hand to his mouth, looking shocked. Roman’s expression was unreadable, and that made Virgil begin to regret his decision as he remembered exactly where he was. It was already likely that these giants were going to kill him; Virgil had heard the legends of man-eating giants in the clouds. Still, if Virgil was going to die anyways, he might as well die doing what he did best. Which was, of course, making others hate him.

 

“Oh, you’re pretty full of yourself for a half pint.” Roman finally said, raising an eyebrow. Virgil’s eyes widened, fear resurfacing as the grip around him momentarily tightened. He gasped, for a second unable to breathe.

 

“Well, he is just a human.” Patton reasoned quietly. Virgil frowned at what Patton was implying, but Roman seemed pleased with this line of reasoning. At the very least, the grip loosened enough that Virgil was able to gasp for air. 

 

“You’re right, Pat.” This time it was Roman who reached up and teased Virgil’s hair. “And quite an adorable one at that!”

 

“Do you think we can keep him?” Patton seemed to bounce on his toes, looking excited. 

 

“I think  _ I  _ can keep him.” Roman corrected, and Virgil was once again pressed against the Giant’s chest. Patton’s face fell. “As I recall, you lost the last one.”

 

Virgil tried to keep track of their conversation, none of this making sense. Were they talking about other people? How do you  _ lose  _ an entire person? But still, if they escaped, maybe Virgil could escape too...unless by ‘lost’ that poor human had met a less than pleasant demise. Virgil gulped at the thought.

 

“That wasn’t... _ totally _ my fault.” Patton said, biting his lip. Virgil hated how lightly they were talking about this, as though his life were just a dish to be passed around. Of course, that metaphor only reminded Virgil what was going to happen. He grit his teeth, looking down and willing himself not to cry. 

 

How would the Giants cook him? Would it be quick like a beheading, or slow and painful like a lobster boiled alive? Perhaps they wanted him raw, still alive and kicking…

 

“Can’t we share him?” Patton insisted. “I promise I’ll be more careful. I won’t tell Logan.” 

 

“And what, exactly, will you not be telling me?”

 

At the sound of a third voice, both Giant’s eyes widened. Before Virgil could even process what was happening, Roman turned around, hiding Virgil behind his back so quickly that Virgil’s stomach threatened to upheave its contents. Not that there was much in there, anyways.

 

“Logan!” Roman greeted the newcomer, sounding nervous. “I thought you were still in the study.”

 

“I was.” Logan’s voice was accompanied by heavy footsteps coming closer, and Roman took a few steps of his own away. “But then I saw you tearing about the garden like a ruffian and wondered what got you so exhilarated.” 

 

“I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about.” Roman fibbed, his fingers twitching around Virgil and making the human tense. He didn’t know why this other Giant seemed so frightening to the first two, and that made his own anxiety skyrocket.

 

“You vaulted over the gate and abandoned your pack.” There was a loud shifting noise which Virgil assumed was the pack being shown off. “As well as your sword, I may add.”

 

“...oh.” Roman grimaced. “You see, about that-”

 

“Maybe we should just tell him?” Patton interrupted, sounding almost...meek. 

 

“Patton!” Roman hissed.

 

“Roman, what are you hiding?” Logan spoke sternly, his baritone voice resonating to Virgil’s core. There was a long silence, but then with a sigh Virgil felt himself moving. The third Giant looked down at him through a rigid pair of glasses, his gaze icy and unyielding. Uh oh.

 

“Now, before you say anything…”

 

“No.” Logan cut Roman off, snapping his head up to glare at Roman. 

 

“You didn’t let him finish.” Patton lifted a timid finger, but when Logan’s glare shifted over to him he ducked his head.

 

“You know what? I don’t care what you say, I’m keeping him.” Roman insisted, and Virgil nearly fell over as he was brought higher, stopping right in front of Roman’s hawk-like eyes. “You want to stay with me, don’t you?” As soon as Roman spoke, Virgil’s eyes locked on his sharpened fangs and his already pale complexion became whiter than a sheet. 

 

“You can’t keep him.” Logan insisted, sounding a bit weary.

 

“Don’t listen to them.” Roman teased, waving off Logan’s words. “They’re just jealous of how cute you are.” 

 

_ Cute enough to eat?  _ Virgil cringed, almost laughing at the cruel irony. He closed his eyes, wishing those huge razor-sharp teeth would just bite him in half already so that this could be over with.

 

“Roman, you know as well as I these creatures are far from harmless.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “It would be dangerous to keep him.” 

 

...wait, what?

 

Dangerous? How could Virgil be dangerous to  _ them?  _ They were Giants! Giants who could (and soon would) cook him into a stew. In their eyes, he should be as dangerous as a carrot. Which was a discouraging thought, but surely it held some truth. 

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” Roman lowered Virgil to his chest, holding him there as he went over to pat Logan on the shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about, concerned-icus.” 

 

“Roman-” Logan called after the Giant as Roman slid right past him, continuing down the hall at a speed walk.

 

“Can’t hear you, I’m too far down the hall!” Roman yelled back, Virgil ducking his head as if to stop the ringing in his ears that started up at the Giant’s volume. Virgil tried to keep track of the many twists and turns Roman took, wanting to know the way back just in case he was granted even the slimmest chance of escape. Eventually Roman stopped, ducking into a room.

 

Virgil looked at this new scene, eyes widening. All the kingdom could fit in this room. A lavish four poster bed sat in the back center, dark red velvet curtains billowing out. The interior of the room seemed to be decorated in an elaborate display of whites and golds, intricately balanced to create quite extravagant decor.

 

Of course, as Roman approached a particular piece of furniture, Virgil’s eyes locked onto it. It was a gilded birdcage, hanging elegantly from a golden pole that shimmered from the light shining through the window. It seemed more decorative than practical, but with a sinking feeling of dread Virgil realized Roman’s intentions. He struggled fruitlessly as if he had any chance of changing his destination.

 

“Ah ah ah,” Roman held him up again, waving a finger in front of him as though he were a naughty child. “I’m onto you. You may be cute, but don’t take me for some fool. I know your human tricks. You are going to stay right here where you cannot take anything else.” Before Virgil could point out he hadn’t taken anything, Roman opened the cage door and tossed Virgil inside. Virgil groaned, the cage swinging weakly back and forth as Roman locked it again. 

 

“Now stay.” Roman said firmly, pointing at Virgil. The Giant didn’t even wait for a response, just commanded him like a pet and turned on his heel. Virgil gritted his teeth, slowly getting to his feet.

 

“No.”

 

Roman froze at Virgil’s voice, and Virgil realized he may have just signed his own death warrant. Of course, he was already a dead man, so did it really matter? The Giant turned to him, and Virgil managed to keep his defensive stance up.

 

“No?” Roman repeated incredulously, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“No!” Virgil repeated, coming closer to the front of the cage, each step causing his prison to sway slightly as it became unbalanced. “No, stop toying with me already! If you’re gonna kill me, then-” Virgil’s hands shook, but he gripped the bars to steady himself. “Then just do it already!” 

 

Roman looked surprised at Virgil’s outburst, both eyebrows shooting up. “I would  _ never _ do such a thing!” He insisted, quickly walking back towards the cage. “We aren’t  _ monsters _ .” The way he was looking the human up and down made it clear that’s what he thought of Virgil, and this just set Virgil’s blood boiling even faster.

 

“Well nor am I!” Virgil insisted, earning him a scoff so loud it ruffled Virgil’s hair. “I haven’t done anything wrong, I didn’t mean to come crashing into your garden, and frankly I just want to go home!” Although briefly Virgil remembered that ‘home’ was currently a set of broken pieces atop a giant plant.

 

“Oh I’m sure you would love that, wouldn’t you?” Roman all but sneered, leaning closer and crossing his arms. “So you can go rat us out to all your other little friends.” Roman paused, seeming to have realized something. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? I bet the last one went back down bragging about us, boasting about how easy it would be to rob us of our riches.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking a-!” Virgil froze, eyes going wide. The strange man in the woods, what was it he had said? 

 

_ ...I assure you that you shall see fabulous riches beyond your wildest dreams… _

 

“I don’t care about your riches.” Virgil shook his head, clearing his thoughts. 

 

“Uh huh.” Roman said, looking unimpressed. “That’s what he said, too.” 

 

“I’m telling the truth!” Virgil insisted, but the Giant wasn’t listening to him anymore. Roman turned towards the door, and Virgil yelled after him to make sure he was heard. “HEY!  Get back here, I’m not done! You can’t just keep me like a prisoner or a pet or whatever the hell you’re doing!” 

 

Roman didn’t even look back, the door shutting once more with a sickening thud.


	25. Roman the Giant!Mer!Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Roman “i just want you to be happy”

_“I just want you to be happy._ ”

The king’s words echoed in Roman’s head as he swam through the kelp forest, tail whipping furiously.  _Happy_. What did his father know about happy? How was Roman meant to be happy living trapped in this realm? Roman yearned to see the world, and yet he was confined to this singular sea. As the next heir to the throne, the mer prince could not allow his life to be at risk.

But what risk could even the most vicious of predators be to a trained merman such as himself? Surely there was not a creature alive, mer or beast, who had ever bested Roman in battle.

Roman re-positioned his trajectory, swimming up closer to the surface and hoping the soft moonlight would offer him some comfort. Of course, it was just his luck a fleet of human vessels were traversing above him, preventing him from surfacing lest he be seen.

“Curses.” Roman muttered, giving his tail a flick and causing a few waves. Even if Roman had been able to surface, he would not have seen any moonlight. Dark clouds began to cover the sky, the atmosphere seeming to share Roman’s mood. The prince watched the surface waves pick up, a storm brewing. Feeling merciful, Roman snuck down to the underside of a few of the human ships, guiding them through the tumbling waters and away from the craggy rocks.

He pushed the first few around the bend of the outcropping, returning for the final ship. By now the storm was picking up, the wind whipping at those little fabric sails. This final vessel began to tilt uneasily, nearly overtaken by a particularly large wave.

“Whoa there.” Roman was quick to steady it, his shadowy figure hidden in the cover of darkness under the water. Just like the others he gave it a shove, watching the three safely travel on.

“You’re welcome.” Roman rolled his eyes, listening to their cries of relief fading in the distance. He noticed a small pile of human belongings had fallen off the final ship, and these he began to gather up in his palm. Noticing one sinking a little further away, Roman went over to investigate.

Roman’s eyes widened, realizing it was not a _thing_  but rather…a person. A tiny human, limp in the water as if not caring where the water took him.

“Are you alright?” Roman frowned, scooping up the tiny form. It was a bit frightening how little the human reacted, only a few bubbles escaping its mouth.

 

 _Air._  Roman suddenly realized.  _Humans need air._  Quickly Roman swam up, breaching the surface and holding his hand aloft. Almost instantly the human began to cough, spitting up seawater. Roman glanced around at the open ocean, but the fleet was gone.


	26. Punk!Logan Origin Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the Punk Giant Logan and Human Virgil with the prompt 'At this point it's illogical to be scared'. I absolutely love this story and I need more

“If you grab me I’ll scream!” Virgil threatened, eyes widening as the hand actually paused in mid air.

“And what will you do if I don’t?” The Giant’s voice rumbles through his core. Virgil looked up, meeting Logan’s cold gaze. “Are you gonna sit here and freeze do death, or just hope another nimrod comes back to finish the job? Whether you like it or not I’m trying to help you and you seem to be out of options.”

Virgil knew Logan was right. He _hated_ that Logan was right. So, when Logan’s fingers approached again, Virgil only struggled weakly as they wrapped around him. He had expected Logan’s grip to be tight, especially after watching him knock out the other bully, but instead Logan’s grasp was surprisingly gentle around Virgil’s bruised form.

He let out a gasp, feeling his stomach drop and suddenly he was a hundred feet in the air. Virgil paled, watching the ground disappear beneath him. At this height Virgil could finally see the building sign, which read “ _Princeton High_ ”.

“You’re a student?” Virgil looked up at Logan, surprised. It was always hard to tell how old Giants were, considering they were so tall and terrifying.

“Yes.” Logan answered, and with a jolt they were moving away from the campus.

“…is school over?” Virgil frowned, trying to peek back at the campus growing farther away. There was a quiet chuckle above him.

“No.” Logan smirked. “But it’s over for me. The ignorance there is stifling.”

“Oh.” Virgil bit his lip, trying to make conversation with the student who had admittedly saved him. “I don’t like school either.”

“That much is obvious.” Logan raised an eyebrow, looking down at him briefly. “Most humans who have a fondness for the education system don’t skip class and end up in the Giant district.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” Virgil muttered. If Logan heard him, he didn’t acknowledge it. Virgil slowly leaned back against Logan’s chest, not wanting to look down at the sidewalk anymore. Though he wouldn’t admit it, there was also a second reason for this action. Virgil was feeling very cold. It was nice to feel the warmth radiating off Logan’s chest.

“Where are you taking me?” Virgil asked.

“Where do you live?” Logan asked in response. Virgil paused only briefly, wondering how good of an idea it’d be to give a Giant his home address. “If you don’t tell me I suppose we’re going to my house.”

“I thought Giants weren’t supposed to come into the human district.” Virgil pointed out. Not the residential areas, at least. Reassurances like that had helped Virgil feel safe at home despite the fact the Giant district was so close.

“And?” Logan sounded genuinely confused, as if he didn’t see the point to Virgil’s statement.

“And, aren’t you scared you’re gonna get in trouble?” Virgil frowned.

“Virgil, look at me.” Logan paused in his walk, holding out the human slightly. Virgil looked him up and down, taking in everything from logan’s studded leather jacket down to his black combat boots. “I’ve been to juvie twice, detention daily, and literally still have blood on my hands.” Logan held up his bloody knuckles with a smirk. “I’m clearly a model citizen.”

This actually caused Virgil to snort.

“At this point it’s illogical to be scared of any consequences.”  Logan shrugged, picking up his pace once more. “Besides, if I get any trouble I can just use you as leverage. I’m just a simple good samaritan returning a delinquent human home.”

“…541 Maplewood.” Virgil instructed, finally giving up his address.

Logan nodded, pulling out his phone and typing it in. He reached the human district, and Virgil tensed as Logan barely looked up from his phone to step through the relatively tiny streets. The human student could only be thankful that most people were at work or school at this time.

“Careful!” Virgil warned, eyes widening as it looked like Logan was going to kick a car.

“I’m being careful.” Logan insisted, but he did pause and recheck his footing after that incident. Soon they reached Virgil’s house, and it was admittedly very strange to see it from this angle. It almost appeared to be a very intricate dollhouse.

“Is this it?” Logan asked, crouching down to set Virgil on the driveway. Virgil nodded, turning around to look up at Logan. Even crouching the Giant towered over him. It was strange, seeing Logan look so out of place within Virgil’s world.

“Um, thanks.” Virgil said sheepishly, shuffling his feet. “For…for everything.”

“No problem.” Logan looked at him a bit more intently, concern sparkling in his eyes. “Are you going to be alright?”

“I think so.” Virgil nodded. “My mom will be home in a bit, not sure what I’ll tell her though.”

“Fake sickness and say they sent you home.” Logan suggested. “Or perhaps tell the truth but leave out a few details.”

“Yeah…maybe.” Virgil put out his arms slightly, feeling the ground shake as Logan rose to his full height. Virgil stepped back slightly so he could look up at Logan again.

“See you later, Virgil.” Logan smiled, waving at him once before walking back towards the Giant district. Virgil waved a tentative hand, wondering if he would ever see Logan again. He kind of wanted to; sure, Logan was a Giant, and terrifying, but…something about Logan drew Virgil to him. Maybe it was that fearful adrenaline rush. Maybe it was Logan’s chill disregard for authority that was so refreshing.

Or maybe it was the fact that Logan was the first person to actually see him.


	27. Tiny Logince Swordfight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “you’re my best friend. you’re supposed to deal with the second-hand embarrassment.” Logan to Virgil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Yeah I’m a little loose with my prompt/pairing usage now, heh. Anyways this is a world where borrowers are kept as pets, logince included.)

It was supposed to be a simple ‘playdate’, as Patton called it. Patton thought bringing the two tinies together would be fun and help them let off steam. Virgil should have known better than to put these particular pets together. Logan and Roman had been bickering almost non-stop since they got here, and while Patton may find it almost cute Virgil was nervous that it would turn into something more serious.

“Patton, your borrower’s being cringey again.” Virgil groaned, rubbing a hand down his face.

“You’re my best friend, you’re supposed to deal with the second-hand embarrassment.” Patton giggled, looking excited.

“Patton, my sword.” Roman gave a snap of his fingers, and Patton handed the borrower his makeshift weapon that was actually a plastic sword found stuck through fruit in fancy drinks. It had been sharpened to a point, and he pointed the tip of it in Logan’s direction. “En guarde.”

“Surely you’re joking.” Logan deadpanned, looking unfazed. “I thought for once you were going to be capable of holding an intelligent conversation.”

“What, are you a coward?” Roman took a step forward, gently nudging the front of Logan’s shirt with the blade. “Too scared to face me?”

Logan glared at Roman, taking a step back and drawing the weapon that sat at his hip. It was a sewing needle, the blade much slimmer and sharper than Roman’s own.

“Wanna take bets?” Virgil muttered as Logan and Roman began to circle each other. “I’m trying to figure out who loses an arm first.”

“Uh…” Patton’s smile fell, beginning to look a bit nervous. “Hey kiddos, play nice, alright?”

“I’ll play as nice as he does.” Roman replied, his concentration fierce like a lion on the prowl.

“Likewise.” Logan murmured.

Roman finally took a lunge at Logan, the nerd dodging easily and clanging his metal blade against Roman’s.

“Poor form.” Logan observed, with a flick of his wrist pushing Roman’s weapon back.

“You should talk.” Roman hit Logan’s needle away as Logan made a jab at him. “Have you practiced at all?”

“I’ve had more pressing matters on my mind as of late.” Logan replied, sending a brief glance in the human’s direction. “Or perhaps you’ve lost sight of the objective.”

“I’ve forgotten nothing.” Roman parried his blade again, the two exchanging a few more jabs. Logan lunged at him and Roman easily sidestepped, shaking his head. “You’re weak, Logan.”

“At least I haven’t submitted myself to becoming a lapdog.” Logan’s comment clearly struck a nerve, as Roman’s next blow had enough force behind it to send Logan stumbling back a few steps.

“Roman!” Patton gasped, but Roman’s anger only seemed to grow.

“As if being a tool is much better, mr. pocket calculator.” Roman huffed.

“I adapted.” Logan insisted, coming back to take another swing at Roman.

“So did I!” Roman’s weapon clanged against his as he blocked.

Virgil and Patton glanced at each other, confused and worried. This was certainly new information to them. What were their borrowers talking about?

“You don’t even keep yourself armed.” Logan noted. “You had your weapon handed over; have you really become so dependent?”

“I crafted my weapon.” Roman huffed, twirling backwards to doge a blow. “Yours has no altercations. What, did your human buy it for you?”

“None of your business.” Logan felt the needle become a bit heavier in his hand, knowing Roman’s guess was correct.

“Seems I’m not the only one taking pity gifts.” Roman had begun to pant slightly from the exertion.

“I only take what I need.” Logan insisted, his breaths becoming shallow as well as he pressed on. “Or have you really forgotten the rules already?”

“As if the rules even still apply!” Roman swung his sword with such strength he nearly knocked Logan’s weapon out of his hand, bringing the hilt of it up and hitting Logan in the side.

Logan winced, the fire of determination in his eyes reignited by the pain. “The rules don’t apply? You’re a disgrace to borrower kind.” Swiftly the needle whisked through the air, nicking Roman in the arm enough to draw blood.

Roman let out a hiss as his arm burned, spurring him on. “At least I didn’t get us caught!” He used Logan’s moment of hesitation to knock Logan’s weapon off to the side, shoving the borrower to the ground and holding his sword to Logan’s chest.

“HEY!” Virgil pounded his hand on the table, immediately gaining both borrowers attention as they looked up at him in fear. “Knock it off.”

The tinies looked almost embarrassed, nervous even, as though they had forgotten they had an audience. Roman offered his hand, helping Logan stand before the two walked off to opposite ends of the table.

“Roman, are you alright?” Patton immediately leaned in, looking down at Roman with worry.

“I’m fine, Pat.” Roman’s tone was subdued, gently clutching his injured arm while his weapon hung limply at his side.

“…what the hell was that about?” Virgil asked, watching Logan walk over and morosely retrieve his sewing needle.

“Nothing.” Logan lied, cleaning off the blade and attaching it to his hip.

“That wasn’t nothing.” Virgil frowned. He nudged Logan’s side, but the borrower only flinched away from Virgil’s touch. Logan’s reaction only increased Virgil’s worry. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I do not wish to discuss it, Virgil.” Logan insisted, turning away from him.

“Roman, you’re hurt.” Patton lifted Roman’s arm gently, only for Roman to tug it out of his grasp.

“I said I’m fine.” Roman cradled his arm to his chest. “It’s just a scratch; why won’t you listen to me?”

“I- I’m sorry.” Patton looked unsure of himself, pulling his hands back to his chest. “Can I at least get you a band-aid?”

Roman looked to Logan, almost as if searching to see if the other borrower was going to judge him for accepting aid, but Logan gave him no response.

“…fine.” Roman relented.

Patton and Virgil shared a look, both wondering what had happened to their borrowers.


	28. Sick!Virgil with parent!Logicality fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're freezing. Come here." With Human Patton and Tiny Virgil pls?

It was the cough that got him caught.

Virgil had been fine, ready to go to school when his father heard him coughing. Immediately Logan began checking his temperature, asking enough questions to make his head spin.

“Dad, I’m  _fine_.” Virgil insisted, but the way his body shivered gave away his lie.

“You’re freezing.” Logan’s eyes widened in realization. “Come here.” He scooped up Virgil, ignoring his son’s protests as he brought the borrower up to his face for further inspection.   
  


“I’m gonna be late for school.” Virgil huffed.

“No, you’re not going to school.” Logan shook his head, already pulling out his phone to inform the office. “I’ll see if Patton can take the day off.”

“Logan, don’t-” Virgil interrupted himself with another cough. “-don’t tell Patton. I don’t want to burden him.”

“Virgil, you’re not being a burden.” Logan insisted, heading back upstairs. “We love you and want you to take the proper time to heal. Indeed, Patton will probably be excited at the prospect of helping you feel better.”

“Logan, please don’t make me miss school.” Virgil pleaded, looking up at Logan.

Logan paused, looking down at Virgil. “Your behavior is unexpected. I was under the assumption that children and teens enjoyed missing school.”

“If I miss class I’m gonna fall behind.” Virgil voiced his fears, looking down at his lap. “…and then you’ll be disappointed in me.”

“Virgil, no.” Logan lifted Virgil higher, meeting his eye. “I will do no such thing. I’ll be proud of you for taking the proper time to recuperate, and if you truly feel as though you have trouble making up the material I would happily assist you in getting back on track.”

Virgil sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“In the meantime, it’s time for you to get some rest.” Logan instructed, setting Virgil down into his bed. “Patton will be home soon.”

“Okay.” Virgil pulled up his covers, smiling up at Logan. “Thanks Dad.”

Virgil fell back asleep for a while, drifting in and out of consciousness when he heard a soft knocking at his door.

“Hey kiddo.” Patton spoke softly, smiling when he saw the borrower was awake. “Are you feeling any better?”

Virgil tried to answer but only broke into another fit of coughing. Patton winced.

“I’ll make you some soup.” Patton offered, receiving a thumbs-up. He returned a little while later, balancing a tray with a big bowl of soup and a bottle cap next to it.

“Careful!” Patton warned, looking anxious as he handed the half-filled cap over. “It’s hot, don’t spill it on yourself.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Virgil took it, sitting up. He gave it a cautious sip, sighing happily as the warm liquid warmed his insides.

“Family recipe.” Patton explained. “Nothing quite like chicken noodle soup to drive away those pesky viruses.”

“Thanks, Pap.” Virgil smiled up at him. “I’m feeling better already.”


	29. Humans get Colds?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Roman "I just want you to be happy"  
> Thomas and Logan “are you feeling better today?”  
> Thomas and Virgil "we should run away"  
> Thomas and Patton "you know me better than anyone"

Being sick was nothing new to Thomas. He was often ill in his childhood, be it seasonal allergies or a stronger virus. His mother would make him chicken noodles soup, and after a few days he would be fine. However, that was when he was home. Now he was trapped amongst giants, which was certainly less than ideal. He had felt the cold coming when his head got foggy during sword practice. **  
**

“Keep your chin up, Thomas.” Roman instructed. “Feet shoulder width apart, arm steady.”

Thomas tried to follow Roman’s directions, but slowly his arm began to sink.

“…Thomas?” Roman asked, frowning as Thomas’ energy dwindled. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Thomas assured him, rubbing at his eyes. “It’s just a cold.”

“…what’s a cold?”

“You guys don’t get colds?” Thomas raised an eyebrow.

“Well, we  _get_  cold, but…” Roman picked Thomas up, eyes widening. “Thomas, you’re not cold at all!”

“Yeah, I might be getting a fever.” Thomas explained, feeling a shiver coming on. Roman rushed to the other room, desperate for help.

“Thomas is cursed!” Roman declared to his brothers.

“What? Cursed?” Logan looked up from his book. Virgil came over to see what the commotion was about as well.

“He keeps shivering but he’s all warm.” Roman explained, holding Thomas out so the others could feel.

“That’s weird…” Virgil muttered, watching as Logan put his finger out to touch Thomas’ skin.

“I’m not cursed, I’m just sick.” Thomas explained, giving a slight cough.

“He might be dying.” Logan murmured.

“No, no, I’m not dying.” Thomas quickly assured them, but it seems as though they weren’t listening.

“How long do we have?” Roman asked, looking heartbroken.

“Ohhhhh Patton’s gonna be crushed.” Virgil’s fingers dug through his hair nervously. “We should run away, he never needs to know.”

“Thomas, we are going to do whatever you want tomorrow, alright?” Roman smiled half-heartedly down at the human, clearly expecting the human to only have a few days left. “I…I just want you to be happy.”

“Aw, Roman, that’s really sweet of you, but-” Thomas’ explanation was cut off by another cough, making all three giants wince.

“What’s going on?” A fourth voice entered the room, causing Roman to quickly hide Thomas behind his back.

“Patton!” Roman gasped slightly. “You startled us.” Virgil tried to hide his own anxiety, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. Logan pointedly looked anywhere other than at Patton.

“You’re hiding something.” Patton realized.

“Whaaaat?” Roman gave an anxious laugh. “Us? Hiding something?”

“Where’s Thomas?” Patton glanced at the tabletop, then at Roman’s hands still behind his back. Roman sighed, slowly bringing Thomas around to the front.

“He’s unwell.” Logan explained, watching as Thomas gave another sniffle.

“What?” Patton slowly took Thomas into his own hands, looking down at the human with worry. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s… you know…” Virgil drew his finger across his neck, looking forlorn.

“What?!” Tears sprung from Patton’s eyes as he hugged Thomas close. “When? Why? What’s happening?”

“Cursed, I think.” Roman nodded solemnly. “But rest assured I will be seeking vengeance!”

“I’M NOT DYING!” Thomas pushed away from Patton’s chest.

“W-what?” Patton blubbered, pulling the human out enough to look down at him.

“Patton, you know me better than anyone.” Thomas said exasperatedly. “Does it look like I’m dying?”

“But…you’re so  _warm._ ” Patton bit his lip. “And you seem so tired.”

“Yes, that’s what being sick means.” Thomas explained. “It’s when a human gets a disease that saps their energy, but it goes away after a few days.”

“So it’s just a minor curse?” Roman clarified.

“I…yes. It’s a minor curse.” Thomas sighed, realizing that’s how they would best understand.

“But a few days?” Virgil’s eyes widened. “How do you survive if you’re weak for so long?”

“Well, usually other people look after you.” Thomas shrugged. “And usually I’m not in a realm where everything outside is bigger and trying to kill me.”

“We can help look after you!” Patton offered, eager to save his tiny friend. “What do we need to do?”

“I mean, not much.” Thomas shrugged. “I just need to sleep it off mostly, drink lots of fluids, that sort of stuff.”

This was apparently the wrong directions to give. The giants put him to bed on Virgil’s mattress, surrounded by the mass amount of blankets. Every half hour or so one of them would come in, asking if he felt any better and dropping off another thimble of water for him. Still, their misguided efforts were helpful. The bed was very comfortable and Thomas fell asleep easily. He awoke to the sound of another of the giant’s entrances.

“Are you feeling better today?” Logan asked, coming in with the customary thimble and noticing Thomas was awake. “You’ve been asleep for half a day.”

“Wow.” Thomas looked surprised, gratefully taking the water. “Yeah, I guess I just really did need to sleep it off.” He took a long sip, then yelled in the direction of the door. “You guys can come in.”

Three heads poked sheepishly through the doorway.

“Sorry kiddo, we didn’t want to overwhelm you.” Patton admitted.

“Are you alright?” Roman asked, coming closer. “That was an awful long time to be asleep.”

“Yes, I’m actually feeling much better.” Thomas nodded, finishing off the water.

“Oh thank goodness.” Virgil let out a sigh of relief. “Don’t you dare scare us like that again.”


	30. Virgil and the Beanstalk pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the spamming begin...Roman and Virgil “are you feeling better today?” 
> 
> "you know me better than anyone" and Moxiety?

It was a long time before anything else exciting happened. Virgil spent the rest of the evening crouched in the corner of the birdcage, wondering why the world hated him so much. Roman returned later, looking ready to head to bed. Virgil glared at him but couldn’t muster up the energy to shout insults at the Giant, instead saving it for shivering. Up here in the clouds was still far too cold, and while Virgil hated being handled like a doll as least Roman’s hand had been a brief source of warmth. Now, with the sun set, it was nearly unbearable for the little human. His shaking even managed to rattle the cage, gaining the Giant’s attention.

“Are you alright?” Roman frowned, coming over to look inside.

“It’s f-freezing.” Virgil’s teeth chattered, rubbing at his arms. At this rate he wouldn’t last the night. Who knew that frostbite would be what finally took him?

Of course, as soon as Virgil voiced this, Roman grew concerned. “Oh, you poor thing.” He looked upon Virgil with pity, grabbing the human up once more. Virgil let out a noise of protest, but it was hard to truly fight when the warm fingers made contact. “You’re so cold.” Roman hissed, almost as though holding Virgil was painful.

“Yeah, well…” Virgil’s retort filtered off, seeing as he hadn’t thought this far ahead. Instead he focused on sapping some of Roman’s warmth and gaining his strength back.

Roman hummed thoughtfully, pulling one of the spare blankets from the bed and wrapping Virgil in its corner. The fabric was a luxurious scarlet velvet, soft to the touch. Though it may have been a light blanket for the Giant, it was thicker than any comforter Virgil knew. He squirmed slightly, almost getting lost in the sea of fabric as Roman stuffed the whole bundle back into the cage.

“There.” Looking satisfied, Roman gave a nod of approval and continued to ready himself for bed. At this point Virgil sighed, nesting further into the blanket. Even this meager possession of Roman’s was invaluable to Virgil. He could see why the last human would be so tempted to take something.

Virgil grit his teeth as he thought about the sly man from the woods. Whoever he was had purposefully screwed Virgil over with those dumb magic beans. Why would he do that? What motive could the man have? Virgil didn’t think he had enemies, just distant neighbors. The man had already become fabulously wealthy off whatever he had stolen from the Giants before. What, then, did he hope to gain by sending Virgil up as a sacrifice? Perhaps that was it; he just wanted to pawn the beans off on someone else to get as far away from the Giant world as he could, and Virgil was just the closest target. If that truly was the case, what rotten luck Virgil seemed to have.

It was with this pleasant train of thought that Virgil finally fell asleep, Roman’s loud snoring eventually being tuned out. Of course, it was far too early when Virgil was awoken once more to the sun blinding his eyes. He groaned, sitting up. With a loud yawn it seemed Roman was waking up as well, although he looked far more peaceful as he stretched and got out of bed. The Giant looked over, seeming pleased to see Virgil was up as well.

“Good morning!” Roman greeted, once again all smiles as though their conversation the day before had never happened. “Are you feeling better today?” Not waiting for a response, Roman reached into the cage and plucked Virgil out. Briefly Virgil struggled, but soon even he realized it was pointless and he just resigned himself to whatever fate Roman had in mind.

Roman carried him past the kitchen, through a doorway to what must be the dining room. An impossibly large table sat here, far too large for just three Giants. Virgil’s heart race began to increase; he wasn’t sure if he could handle that many.

Logan was already sat at the head of the table and his eyes followed Virgil as Roman set him down. “I see it’s still here.”

“Yes, Logan, he’s still here.” Roman insisted, loudly scraping a chair out to sit to Logan’s right. A moment later, Patton came in with his arms full of porridge bowls. There were only three, Virgil noted. He gave a brief sigh of relief. At least there wouldn’t be even more unwanted company.

“Is that cinnamon I smell?” Roman guessed, sniffing the heavenly aroma. “Oh, you shouldn’t have.”  
  


“I know it’s your favorite.” Patton giggled, setting the bowl in front of Roman.

“Ah, you know me better than anyone.” Roman dramatically sighed, eyes closing briefly in bliss. Virgil almost felt a similar feeling of relief. It had been a long time since he had a proper warm meal, and food sounded amazing.

Patton set the bowls out for everyone else, then returned with a tiny bowl for Virgil. ‘Tiny’ being relative- Virgil could still easily take a bath in it. That is, if he wanted to look appetising. Of course Roman said they wouldn’t hurt him, but it was hard to believe that when clearly everyone else at the table thought he was somewhere between cute vermin and heartless killer.

“Here you go, kiddo.” Patton said, holding out a scrap of bread to Virgil.

“Er, thanks.” Virgil took it, kind of wishing he could point out the fact he wasn’t a kid. Patton seemed pleased with this, briefly patting Virgil’s head before handing out bread to the others. The four ate in silence for a few minutes, but with the way Logan kept looking at him Virgil was finding it hard to swallow.

“I think it would be beneficial if I remind you what happened last time.” Logan finally said, turning to Roman.

“I don’t want to hear it, royal pain.” Roman loudly slurped up a spoonful of porridge as if to tune Logan out.

“You’re acting like a child.” Logan scolded.

“Oh, am I?” Roman set his spoon down with a clatter, and Virgil jumped at how the table shook. “Well at least I didn’t get tricked by someone who can fit in the palm of my hand.”

This seemed to strike a nerve. Logan glared over the rim of his glasses, setting his own silverware down. “I am not the only one who was at fault. As I recall, the two of you are the ones who invited that creature into our home.”

“Roman.” Patton said in a warning tone, looking over at the way Roman seemed ready to start a fight. Roman met his gaze, backing down slightly but unable to stop one last comment from passing through his lips.

“Well, maybe he wouldn’t have taken dad’s goose if you weren’t so insistent on letting him go in the first place.” Roman muttered, looking down into his bowl.

Though Virgil did not understand what was being implied, the tension in the air was so thick even he could feel it. He kept his head down, suddenly scared to even take a bite of his bread lest the sound break the silence. A loud slurping sound was suddenly heard to his left, and it seemed Patton was trying to drink his way through the awkwardness.

“…I’m sorry.” Roman looked up apologetically. “I didn’t mean it.”

“No, I understand.” Logan turned back to his own porridge bowl, both Giants returning to eating. “I suppose you…do make a valid argument. It would have been impossible for him to take anything if he was never released.” Logan’s eyes traveled back to Virgil, and the human didn’t know how to describe his gaze.

“But regardless, I stand firm in my belief that we should return this one before it has the chance to rob us as well.” Logan said to the other Giants, now overlooking Virgil entirely.

“I’m not gonna take anything.” Virgil spoke up, but he was ignored. Of course.

“What if we…cut down the beanstalk?” It was Patton who suggested this, having sat there contemplatively the last few minutes. “That way everybody would be happy.” The other two looked to be considering the idea, so Patton continued. “Well, Roman and I could keep the human here, and Logan, there’d be no worry of him taking anything because there’s nowhere for him to take it!”

“Wait, what?” Virgil’s eyes widened, realizing what they were implying.

“That could work.” Logan hummed thoughtfully, putting his hand to his chin. “It would certainly break this cycle as well of sending the human down only for another to climb up.”

“Wha- NO!” Virgil stood up, throwing his bread down and finally gaining all three Giant’s attention. “No, you can’t do that! That- that’s not fair!”

“It wasn’t fair when your little friend stole our heirlooms, either.” Roman pointed out.

“He’s not my friend!” Virgil insisted, half-laughing in pure hysteria. This was all insane. “I barely even know the guy!”

“A-ha!” Roman poked Virgil in the stomach, forcing the human to fall backwards. “So you do know him, I knew it.”

“No, I don’t.” Virgil groaned, sitting back up. “All I know is that a weird snake guy stopped me in the forest and tried to hand off some magic beans to me. I didn’t even take them, he must have…slipped them into my pocket, or something.”

“For a human, you are an inept liar.” Logan observed.

“I’m not lying.” Virgil moaned, getting real sick and tired of nobody believing him.

“…what did the human look like?” Patton asked, his quiet tone gaining everyone’s attention. Virgil wasn’t sure why it mattered, but at least they seemed to have moved off the whole beanstalk issue for now.

“Uh, about my height.” Virgil recalled, thinking back. “A black cloak, a bowler hat, dressed in the finest robes. Oh, and he had some sort of mark on his eye. The left one, I think?”

Patton nodded slightly. “That’s Dee.” He confirmed, voice almost a whisper as though it pained him.

“Figures he’d turn around and sell our stuff just to improve his looks.” Roman scoffed, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

“Did he…” Patton paused, looking unsure. “Did he seem like, he uh, wanted to come back?”

“Oh Patton.” Logan sighed, shaking his head and looking at Patton with a mixture of disappointment and pity. Roman did the same.

“Well, ah, no.” Virgil glanced between them, unsure if that was the ‘right’ answer. Of course, it hardly mattered if he told the truth, considering he was never believed anyways. “No, he said he had no use for the beans anymore.”

“Oh.” Patton seemed to stare down at his empty bowl for a long time. “I thought…I thought maybe- never mind.” Patton reached out, gathering up the empty dishes without a word. He didn’t ask if Virgil was done, just added his dishes to the pile and disappeared back towards the kitchen.

Logan and Roman shared a knowing look. “On it.” Roman affirmed, getting up to go check on Patton. Of course, this left Virgil alone with Logan, the Giant he was least sure about.

…great.


	31. Stargazing Instead of Studying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Human Virgil with any giant “let’s go somewhere. i’m tired of this town.”

“Let’s go somewhere.” Roman said, scooping Virgil off the ground. “I’m tired of this town.”

“Wha- I have _school_  tomorrow!” Virgil reminded him, frantically scrambling to steady himself on the moving palm.

“Oh, come on Virgil.” Roman moaned. “You cannot honestly tell me that you’d rather sit here and do homework all night.”

“Roman-” Virgil continued to protest, watching the neighborhood lights begin to grow distant. “-c’mon, you don’t understand.”

“I understand perfectly!” Roman argued. “You’ve been brainwashed. Any sensible student would happily skip school.”

“Any sensible student wouldn’t befriend a giant.” Virgil snorted. “No offense.”

“Offense very much taken, thank you very much.” Roman brought up his thumb to poke Virgil’s arm. “I am a charming individual.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “You’re practically prince charming. If prince charming was in the business of capturing maidens instead of saving them.”

“What?” Roman raised an eyebrow. “I don’t capture maidens.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow right back, looking back where they came from and seeing the town was officially out of sight. “…uh huh. And what do you call this, exactly?”

“Well firstly, you make a terrible maiden.” Roman joked. “And I would call this helping a friend out of his stubbornness.”

“Never.” Virgil teased, crossing his arms. “I’m too stubborn to get out of my stubbornness.”

“How delightful.” Roman commented. There was a lull in conversation, as Virgil slowly came to terms with the fact that this was actually happening. After all, Roman was just as stubborn, and there were very few things Virgil could do to actually stop Roman. Besides, maybe Roman was right. It had been a while since he had a break.

“Where are we going, anyways?” Virgil asked.

“Riiiiight…here!” Roman stopped, in the middle of what seemed to be the middle of a wild field, no civilization in sight. Virgil looked over the edge of the hand, trying to figure out what was so important about this piece of land.

“What am I looking at?” Virgil finally gave up, looking up to see Roman smirking at him. The giant used his finger to carefully tilt Virgil’s head even higher.

“This.” Roman slowly sat down, laying down on his back on the grass. He set Virgil on his chest, laying the human down and placing his palm overtop. Roman pointed up to the sky, where the stars shone beautifully down upon them. This far from civilization, there was no light pollution to ruin the view.

“Woah.” Virgil said in awe, taking in the constellations. It had been a long time since Virgil had actually looked up at the night sky. It was certainly pleasant.

“I used to come out here all the time.” Roman explained, his voice rumbling through Virgil as it originated from Roman’s chest. “Before a certain human turned out to be more interesting than this view.”

“Huh.” Virgil gave a small, somewhat cheeky nod. “I didn’t know Patton was so interesting.”

“I meant you, hot topic.” Roman ruffled Virgil’s hair.

“Ah, you do care about me, you giant sap.” Virgil tilted his head back, his neck protesting as he tried to see Roman’s face.

“Oh c’mon, I know you like me too.” Roman smiled down at him.

“Hmm, do I?” Virgil pretended to ponder it, looking back up at the sky. “I like this view…I like the fresh air… I  _don’t_  like being kidnapped….”

Roman’s smile faded. “You’re not actually mad, are you?”

“No.” Virgil decided to finally cut Roman a break. “This is nice.” Roman broke back into a victory grin. “But don’t make a habit of this.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Roman answered, looking back up at the stars. Virgil couldn’t tell if he was serious.


	32. Patton's Trapped Up the Beanstalk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could you do "sing me asong please?" With Royality, maybe?

Patton didn’t know what to do. He had never expected this to go so wrong. In all the fairytales, Jack had climbed the beanstalk just fine. He came down rich and the mean old giants never caught him.

Unfortunately, Patton did not share the same fate. The moment he climbed to the top of that great stalk, it was as if the giants were waiting for him. The rest was a blur, hands and jars and wide peering eyes. Now Patton sat in an ornamental birdcage, dangling in front of the kitchen window. He no longer feared that the giants would add  _him_  to the pot being stirred on the stove, but that didn’t mean the sight of Roman cooking put him at ease. Still, at least Roman left him alone. The Giant kept to himself, humming a tune unfamiliar to Patton as he chopped up some vegetables.

Patton gazed out the window, watching as the snow drifted slowly to the ground. Up here the flakes were as large as his fingers. He distantly wondered if it was snowing down on Earth yet. Would Ma have been able to prepare for the cold season all on her own? Patton had been gone an awful long time by now. He had lost count of the days, and sometimes he even forgot there was a time when he was amongst people his own size.

“Songbird, what’s wrong?” Patton blinked, realizing he was being addressed. He turned to see that Roman was looking over in his direction. “It’s just snow, it won’t hurt you.”

“Oh, ah I’ve seen snow before.” Patton informed him. It seemed the giants often thought he didn’t know about things. “I’m just…” Patton let his sentence trail off, looking back to the window. What was going on? Why was he feeling this way again?

“Sing with me, songbird.” Roman suggested, coming closer with a smile. “You’ll feel better.” He began humming that same tune.

“I don’t know that song.” Patton shook his head, pulling his knees up to his chest. He appreciated that Roman was trying to make him feel better, Patton had always loved singing, but right now it just felt…wrong.

“Well, then could you sing me a song?” Roman suggested. “Please?”

Patton paused. He didn’t think he wanted to sing, but as soon as Roman made that suggestion a certain tune had resurfaced in his memory. A lullaby his Ma had taught him when he was young.

“Okay.” Patton gave a shaky nod. His voice started off soft, almost scared, but with an encouraging nod from Roman his volume increased. It wasn’t exactly a happy song, telling the story of a child getting separated from their parents by fae and the mother searching far and wide for the rest of their life.

Patton began to picture himself in the child’s shoes, his mother running across the fields calling his name over and over again. Was she the one who cut down the beanstalk? Patton had seen it disappear from the garden a while ago. His Ma had no idea what he’d done. Patton had told no one where he was going, and now he would never see them again.

Patton sniffed, bringing the song to an early close so he could wipe at his eyes. He wasn’t sure when he had begun crying.

“Uh…” Roman looked uneasy, given the fact that singing had had the opposite intended effect. “Songbird, how about we try a…. _happier_ melody?”

Patton shook his head. “I don’t know any.”


	33. Roman's Drunk Crying Whoops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When drunk Roman locks himself in the bathroom, Patton turns to borrower!Logan for assistance. This takes place in the same universe as the drabble 'Clever Borrower' (found on tumblr), where borrower!Logan was escaping the three humans.

“Logan?” Patton knocked softly on the bedroom wall, wondering if the borrower would even hear it what with all the music coming from the downstairs apartment. Luckily he did, as Logan came out a moment later, looking only a little annoyed. “Sorry, I know the party’s got you a little tense.”

“Indeed.” Logan’s tone was bordering on snippy.

“It’s just that, well, Roman wanted to come back here to grab something, but now he’s locked in the bathroom, and I can’t get in there and he keeps insisting I go back downstairs but come  _on_  I can’t go to the party alone now everybody will ask where he went! but-”

“What does this have to do with me?” Logan interrupted Patton’s rambling explanation.

“Will you get him to come out?” Patton asked. “Or at least comfort him.”

“What?” Logan looked almost appalled by the idea. “Why me?”

“Well…you’re the only one who can fit under the door.” Patton admitted sheepishly.

“No, Roman will be fine.” Logan shook his head. “He’s most likely just being dramatic.”

“Please Logan?” The human pleaded. “I’m really worried about him…I’ll get you all the crofters you want!”

Logan paused, having been about to step back into the wall. “…your terms are acceptable.”

Patton cheered, nearly defining the borrower as he scooped him up. It seemed Patton had been drinking as well because he forgot to request permission before grabbing, and that only made Logan’s unease grow about what state he might find Roman in.

“Roman?” Patton called out, pausing to knock on the bathroom door.

“Leave me to my misery!” The door wailed.

“Okay kiddo.” Patton responded as he set Logan down on the floor. “I’m going back downstairs. If you need anything, Logan’s here.”

“…Logan?”

“Salutations.” Logan grunted, struggling to squeeze himself through the gap beneath the door. He looked up, noticing that Roman was sat in the bathtub with his knees tucked up against his chest. It was clear the human had been crying.

“What…what are you doing here?” Roman seemed to have paused his tears to stare in bewilderment down at Logan.

“I’m here to assess your mental health.” Logan straightened, brushing off his clothing. “Patton is concerned.”

“I’m fine.” Roman hiccuped, looking a mess.

“…I see.” Logan looked unconvinced. “ Roman, are you aware you don’t have to deal with everything alone?”

“What do you mean?” Roman tilted his head.

“I mean, perhaps it would be beneficial if you share what is troubling you.” Logan suggested.

“It’s nothing.” Roman was quick to push the idea away, but after looking at the borrower again he began to tear up and his upper lip trembled.

“Uh oh.” Logan muttered, sensing a wave of feelings.

“It’s just…” Roman’s voice was shaky. “Oh, every one of my friends hates me and I’m a piece of garbage, but it’s  _fine_. I’ll just live in this porcelain tub until I  _die_ and make life easier.”

“Why do you think everyone hates you?” Logan pressed.

“They just _do_!” Roman insisted, breaking out into full on wailing again.

“Oh good lord.” Logan moved closer, making sure he could be heard over Roman’s cries. “Roman, why does Patton hate you?”

“W-what?”

“Why does Patton hate you?” Logan repeated. “Give me logical reasons why Patton would hate you.”

“Well…I haven’t been a v-very good friend.” Roman explained. “I left him and I ruined his night.”

“No, you did no such thing.” Logan shook his head. “You made Patton concerned, but that was merely because he cares about you. If Patton hated you he wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of fetching me.”

“Okay, but- Virgil hates me!” Roman leaned forwards. “He hasn’t hung out with me in days.”

“No, Virgil is merely introverted.” Logan corrected. “He likely needed some time alone to recuperate. You are jumping to conclusions.”

Roman seemed confused by this, his drunken mind clearly struggling to understand why he should remain upset. “But…you hate me.”

“Me?” Logan’s tone was surprised. He was unaware that he held a place of importance in Roman’s life. He rarely interacted with any of his human companions due to his old borrower customs.

“You’re never around.” Roman insisted. “And you act so scared, and you think I’m dumb, and- and you hate me because I ruined everything for you.”

“Roman, that is incorrect.” Logan stepped even closer, craning his neck back to look up at the human. “Despite our….history, I bear no ill will towards you. Indeed, I am actually quite grateful for the .life you’ve been able to help provide me, nontraditional as it may be.”

Roman’s tears had stopped by now, as the human stared down at the borrower with a hopeful and awestruck expression.

“As for intelligence, you are certainly not inferior.” Logan assured him. “You approach problems with a more creative touch that an individual such as myself lacks. You are a bright student, quite competent in your own right, and you know my opinion in this respect is valid because if you were truly incompetent I would have moved.”

This caused Roman to chuckle. “Thanks. I guess I just let my negative thoughts carry me away.”

“It happens to the best of us.” Logan waved him off. “Indeed, that is why it’s beneficial to ground ourselves with the assistance of others.”

“Thank you, Logan.” Roman reached out, quickly grabbing up the borrower and hugging him to his chest. Logan let out a slight ‘oof’ but otherwise barely flinched, and even managed to give Roman’s chest an awkward pat. Perhaps he was cut out for this after all.

“You are just…the sweetest individual ever.” Roman’s voice broke, new tears forming.

Logan looked up, confused. Now there were  _happy_  tears? Roman hugged him even tighter, a few of the tears falling on Logan. The borrower huffed, wondering how he would possibly get through this night. Perhaps this wasn’t worth a lifetime supply of Crofters. 


	34. Clever Borrower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (takes place in the same universe as the last chapter)

“No, I found him first!” Roman clutched Logan closer to his chest like a prized hamster. “He’s mine.”

“He’s yours?” Virgil laughed. “Last I checked, he wasn’t property. He’s just a freeloader hanging out in our walls.”

“You KNEW?” Logan’s jaw dropped, flabbergasted at the idea of a human knowing his whereabouts this whole time.

“Well yeah.” Virgil shrugged, smirking. “You’re not that clever.”  

Logan’s brain took a moment to process this. _You’re not that clever_. All this time he thought he was so smart, being cautious not to leave a trace of his existence. Logan often rolled his eyes at how easily humans were tricked. Was Logan the one being tricked all along?

 _You’re not that clever._ He staked his life every day on his wits, and yet somewhere along the line he had slipped up. Where? How? What did Virgil know? Perhaps Virgil was right.

_You’re not that clever You’re an idiot You couldn’t even be a decent borrower in a house of morons You’re a moron You’re useless Your brain is all you had and you blew it-_

“Hey, kiddo?” Patton spoke up, looking down at Logan with worry. “You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah, ‘cause Roman’s holding him like a stress ball.” Virgil rolled his eyes.

“I am not!” Roman protested, although he slackened his grip for good measure. Roman held out Logan in front of his face to examine him further.

“I’m…fine.” Logan lied. “Just put me down.”

“What?” Roman looked upset at the thought of letting go of Logan again so soon. “But-”

“Put me DOWN, Roman!” Logan yelled, losing his cool for a moment.  _That wasn’t very clever of you, Logan._

“Okay, okay!” Roman hastily put Logan down on the ground, taking a step back to give him some room. The three human beings stood there, watching as Logan collected himself.

“Oh, it’s okay lil’ buddy.” Patton said, kneeling down to give Logan a comforting back rub. Logan flinched at the contact, but Patton was oblivious to his reaction.

“So you get to pet him and I don’t?” Roman huffed, crossing his arms. 

“I’d rather nobody pets me.” Logan took a few steps away from Patton, waiting to see if he’d make a grab at him. Patton didn’t, but he looked like he really wanted to just scoop Logan off the floor again.

“Oh, I’m sorry Logan!” Patton apologized, which Logan found strange. He had never pictured a human bean apologizing to him. It was…odd.

“Well now I wanna pet you too.” Virgil crouched down, an evil grin on his face. Logan began walking further away.

“I do not want that.” Logan insisted.

“Virgil, leave him alone.” Patton looked at Logan with such pity that it made him want to gag. 

“Oh c’mon, it’s only fair.” Virgil smirked. “Both of you got to hold him.”

“See? Both of you scared him off.” Roman gestured towards Logan who was headed towards the living room.

“So?” Virgil shrugged. “It’s not like he has anywhere to go.”

Nowhere to go? So, Virgil doesn’t know everything.  Logan suddenly got an idea.  _You’re not that clever yourself, Virgil._ Logan, pleased to have some sort of advantage, set a course towards the couch. 

“Where ya going, tom thumb?” Virgil called out, amused at the time it was taking Logan to cross the room.

“Virgil, be nice.” Patton reminded him. He patted his legs as if calling a dog. “Logan, we’re sorry if we hurt your feelings. Wanna come back and talk about it? C’mere, little buddy.” Logan didn’t turn around.

“Oh Logan, at least come back to  _me_.” Roman spoke up. His thunderous footsteps suddenly came closer, causing Logan to break into a run.

“Roman!” Patton scolded, rushing over to try and stop him. 

Logan had gotten under the couch, panting as he regained his breath. Roman’s and Patton’s legs quickly came into view.

“What?” Roman retorted. “I was the best with him!”

“Don’t scare him.” Patton replied, getting down on his hands and knees. He looked under the couch, but Logan was not there. “Logan? Where are ya, lil’ guy?”

Roman joined him on the ground. “Why, he’s vanished! Poof!”

Virgil came over to investigate as well. “…well that’s weird.” He reached a hand underneath, but he felt nothing in the darkness either.

“Logan, please come back.” Patton called out. “Wherever you are.”

“But where on earth could he be?” Roman pondered aloud.

Logan, of course, could hear the loud human voices as he traversed through the passageways of the walls. He wondered how long it would take the humans to realize the outlet cover on the back wall was slightly crooked. Perhaps they would figure out his escape route through the walls by the time he had moved out tonight, in keeping with the borrower code.

Then again, they weren’t that clever.


	35. Important Query

Hey y’all! Sorry it’s been a hot second. Anyways I’ve done a bunch of prompts over on tumblr and will be updating this and my other works later today, but because of the variety of prompts I do this particular collection feels a bit jumbled. So, I was thinking of doing one of a few options:

  * posting each one shot/story as it’s own work
  * posting each universe as it’s own work (so stories that happen in the same universe will be in the same work even if stories aren’t linearly tied)
  * post separately only linear or long stories that developed
  * Only posting on this collection as before



in addition to whatever I do I can either just leave up this collection but not update it, take it down, or leave it up and continue to update it in addition to the new posting option. 

BUT! I cannot decide! Could you please give me your feedback as to what you would most enjoy or would be most helpful to find my works? Also let me know if there’s any questions!

 

UPDATE: Alrighty, it looks like I will be moving away from this work! I'll leave it up and there will certainly be more prompts galore, but I'll be adding them as separate stories so feel free to check out my other works for more great content. 


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